Vampire Academy Final Story
by lorin-nicole
Summary: Rose obviously has a few problems, and she's going to need help. Who will help her? This story starts right after Spirit Bound. First Fanfiction. PLZ Review!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **_**I do not own Vampire Academy. **_

**This is my first Fan Fiction, I don't usually write, but I'm giving it a try.**

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**RPOV**

**Chapter 1**

I had a million things running through my mind all at once, my own worry, doubled with Lissa's worry. For once in my life I was completely terrified for myself more than Lissa. Although, what

happened to me would no dubitably affect Lissa. Victor's brother was proof of that, just remembering his face when we talked to him in Las Vegas, was giving me chills. To be honest I

wanted to give up, just sit here and rot in my cell, if they don't execute me before that of course, but judging on how long trials last, I'm betting on the rotting part. After sitting there in my

cell for a couple hours, giving myself wrinkles, and asking myself how in the hell this could have happened to me, my worry turned into rage. I wasn't sure if it was my own "Rose Hathaway

attitude", or the darkness I took from Lissa, but I was pissed either way. Who would think I would be so stupid? Leaving my personalized stake, with my finger prints, in the Queen's chest?

It's insulting to think that the majority of the Moroi think I'm that dense, which is probably why most of the guardians think I'm innocent, they know a fully trained Guardian would never leave

so much evidence. At least some people think I'm smarter than that. I wanted to punch something I was so angry, but I figured I shouldn't add "destruction of property" to my tab. If Zemy

did get me out of this one, I didn't want to get more time filing, I guess Hans is giving me a better lesson on self control than Dimitri, but I can't go there right now. If I start thinking about

Dimitri, then I'll loose all the resolve I have, which right now, isn't much. I needed to figure this out, the sooner the better- for obvious reasons. Who killed the Queen? Why? Was it because

of the new age law? I was a little skeptical about that one. Most Moroi wouldn't kill the Queen over something that concerned Dampirs more than Moroi themselves, they would just get

together and rant about it. Dampirs were the ones that took action, we had the strength and training, so one of us could easily be blamed for it, considering we were the once affected by

the age law. But, the puzzling thing about that is, if they were going to do it, why would they blame me? I was clearly against it considering the last conversation I had with Tatiana. I was

also supported by Dimitri's guards, so if a Dampir was going to blame me, it had to be someone that had a grudge against me. But, I'm drawing a complete blank, along with a headache. I

decided to take a mental break, and become acquainted with my new surroundings, which hopefully wouldn't become "home". My cell wasn't very big, I had a cot, with one pillow and one

blanket- which didn't include a sheet. I had a bare desk and a chair, which I didn't understand, because it's obvious they wouldn't want a "killer" to have anything like a pencil or pen. There

was a toilet, and a sink with soap, no mirror, and no shower. I was dreading shower time, I hope they were nice enough to find a woman Guardian to watch me, or it's going to be awkward.

I sighed, this is going to be even worse than I thought. I have nothing to do in here, except think, and that already gave me a headache. My guards have been quiet since I came in from my

hearing, maybe they feel bad for me. I got up from my cot and walked to the bars, I didn't recognize either guard.

"Hey! Could I get some water?" I said to the guard closest to me. And then quickly added,

"and some food? I'm withering away over here!" The guard just looked at me for a spilt second, without removing his guardian mask, and then looked back to the wall. So much for sympathy.

How much do they feed you in jail? Probably not near enough to keep up with my appetite. Great, another thing to sit here and sulk about. I'll have to tell Christain to bring the hats for my

pity party, if I even get visitors. God, I hope I get visitors.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **_**I do not own Vampire Academy.**_

**I realized that my last chapter was very short, and I hate reading updates that are short, so I wrote this chapter right after posting the first one. Hope someone likes it! Please tell me if you do or not! Also, thanks for the review LillyCarter! I like the support, it makes me want to write more! **

**Chapter 2**

Some how I managed to sleep in this hell hole, with no dinner I might add. I woke up to muffled talking, which I instantly thought was strange considering I hadn't heard the guards talk at all yesterday. I sat up, running my fingers through my hair, trying to make it look half decent in case I did have any visitors. It was useless, so I pulled it up into a messy bun. Have these people ever heard of brushes? I sighed, today is going to be a long day. I had different guards this morning, I didn't hear them switch shifts. One of them was a woman, hopefully she was going to be my shower chaperone. While I was daydreaming of my shower I so desperately wanted, the door opened and another guard came right up to my cell. I quickly met him at the door, hoping I might get to take a shower, or a walk, or _something._ But, he simply reached his hand through the bars and handed me a brown bag and walked away. I watched him leave with a scowl on my face, so much for the shower. I sat back down on my cot and opened the bag. I pulled out a bottle of water, an apple, and a bagel. Nothing to put on the bagel, but a bagel none the less. If I wasn't allowed pens or pencils, there was no way in hell they were going to give me a butter knife. I was just finishing my breakfast when the door opened again, in walked Abe, followed by his two guardians and the one that gave me my food. Abe didn't say a word, just stood there looking at me, while the guardian opened my cell. Abe thanked him and walked into my cell, his guardians took my guard's places, and the jail guards all left the room. I sat there staring at Abe wondering what kind of deal or threat he used to let him use his own guardians for my watchdogs. He didn't say anything to me for a moment, just stared at me, then finally sat down next to me on my cot. I waited for him to speak, obviously he had something to say, _he_ came to see _me _after all. I didn't realize I was holding my breath until he started talking,

"Rose, next time we're in court, keep your mouth shut." he said to me, with no particular expression on his face. I was about to come back with "well I was just stating the obvious" but he suddenly shot me a death glare, which shut me right up.

"I don't think you realize how to act in a court room. You can't go in there blurting out things that they can twist around and use against you." The glare was gone, and the look that replaced it pissed me off.

"Zmey, please do not try to father me now, I think you're a little late for that. But, I will take the advice, I think I'm going to go crazy in here." I meant for the statement to be bitchy, but it came out sounding scared and desperate, which I'm guessing the look in my eyes said the same thing, because he just looked at me, it almost seemed sympathetic.

"Then let me figure out how to get you out" he paused for a second and then added "legally". I raised my eye brows, well, at least he is thinking about busting me out if I get charged. The thought of escape sounded exciting to me, I've always been wild and unpredictable, so that seemed right up my ally. Looking at Abe, I was guessing that I inherited some of that wild behavior from him, along with being shadow kissed. Even though it was tempting, I knew that wouldn't solve any of my problems, in fact it would create more. If I ran away, I would never become Lissa's guardian, even though my chances were looking slim to none before I was thrown in jail. I had to try though, for the both of us. The reminder of Lissa made me start worrying again. I almost forgot about the letter from Tatiana. I knew I could trust Abe with this secret.

"I think I've got something that might be able to help us… or well me, rather" I said, handing the note over to Abe. He quickly read the letter, slightly smiling, then frowning when he got to the end. I knew what part he didn't like in the letter. Tell as few as possible. I could probably walk out of my cell right now, if I could hand over the letter to let everyone read it. Everything has to be so complicated in my life. I sighed, maybe Abe can't use this to his advantage, but I couldn't tell, his face just looked thoughtful.

"Or not…" I said reaching for the letter. He handed it back and smiled at me.

"Oh no, this will help Rose, this could have been the reasoning behind the Queen's murder." My eyes widened, why hadn't I thought of that?

"You think someone is trying to cover this up? So Lissa doesn't get a spot on the council?" It seemed obvious now, but I was so wrapped up in my issues with the new age law, that I forgot about the note.

"It's defiantly something to look into." Abe said looking thoughtful.

"You mean, it's something you'll bribe someone to look into." I said shaking my head. Abe shrugged, I took that as a yes.

"So am I allowed any other visitors?" I asked, leaning back against the bars of my cell.

"No, they are trying to keep everyone away from you." I grimaced, they must not want anyone trying to plan a get-a-way with me, or try to help me cover up the "murder".

"I'm allowed in because I'm your lawyer." He said looking at me, then added

"I should go, you would probably like a shower right about now." I guess my attempts at hand brushing my hair was a lost cause.

"YES, god, please! I only have these clothes though, I need some clean ones, and I refuse to wear the stupid orange jumpsuit. Do I get to have a normal set of clothes?" I asked, Abe just smiled and stood up. He walked to the door, turned back to me and said,

"I'll have someone drop off some clothes shortly." I sighed in relief,

"Thanks, Zmey" I said with a slight smile, watching him leave. There was no way in hell I was going to wear a stupid jumpsuit. I mentally laughed at the thought of refusing to wear a jumpsuit, and having to sit naked in my cell. I bet that cocky guardian from last night wouldn't be able to keep his guardian mask up then.

While I was waiting for my new clothes and a shower, I thought about the fact that I couldn't have any visitors, except Abe. Well, at least I could always escape to Lissa's head, it would almost seem like I wasn't locked up. It's times like these I wish the bond worked both ways, then I would have someone to talk to while I was awake. I could talk to Adrian in my dreams, which had me wondering why I didn't see him at all last night. Is he mad at me? I did pick Abe over the lawyer his mother tried to get me, that was pretty bitchy of me-which shouldn't surprise anyone. She didn't want to do it in the first place, I hope she still likes me, even if it was just a little. I still felt guilty, I cared for Adrian. It made me sad to think of him, he loves me and is so thoughtful. I feel even worse because I know he hates that Dimitri is back, and I'm not hiding the way I feel about him. I thought about the last night I spent with Adrian, should I be doing this? I do care for him, but it's no where near how he feels about me. Is that leading him on? I felt my eyes starting to water, and quickly closed them so no tears would run down my face. Yes, I'm leading him on. I hated myself thinking about it, and it only made it worse because he has only treated me right from the beginning. He was my shoulder to cry on when Liss was in the dark about Dimitri. Maybe that's what our relationship should be like. A friendship. The more I thought about it like that, the more it seemed to be the best answer, for this particular problem-which wasn't on the top of the list, but hey, at least I'm attempting to sort through them. A friendship with Adrian felt natural, just like my love for Dimitri felt natural. Before I could even get a chance to lose it thinking about him, the woman guardian spoke.

"It's time for a shower, Hathaway." I was so happy I could hug her. But then I remembered Abe promised me clothes.

"Well, if Abe didn't get my clothes here yet, what am I suppose to wear? And, you can forget about those stupid jumpsuits, I'd rather be naked." I added a little attitude-which wasn't hard. I wanted to make sure she knew I was serious about the jumpsuit. She looked amused, and said

"He had them delivered, they are in the shower room."

"Oh." was my brilliant response. She opened up my door, and turned and started walking to a hallway, I quickly followed her. I was aware of someone following me, and when I looked behind my shoulder I saw the other guard following us.

"I hope you're not going to watch me shower too, grandpa." The guard wasn't that old, I'd say mid thirties, but I still wanted to piss him off. He looked down at me for a second, and if I didn't know how to read guardian's faces when they lose a little control of their emotions, I would have never caught it. But for a split second I saw his annoyance with my commentary. I gave him an evil smile and turned back around to follow the female guard.

When I finished my shower, it felt like lunch time. I couldn't know for sure, considering I wasn't ever around a clock, or a window. Abe did come through with the clothes, and I was grateful. I was given some of my workout clothes, I knew they weren't going to let me work out, but they were still comfortable-that's all that mattered at the moment. When I got back to my cell there was another brown bag sitting on my cot, yay… lunch. I was starving, and wanted a real, hot, full of flavor meal. But when I opened the bag all I had was a bottle of water, a ham and cheese sandwich, and a bag of chips. These people need to get more creative with their food choices. But, at least they were feeding me.

I laid on my cot, looking at the ceiling tiles, trying not to think of anything particular to avoid a headache, when suddenly I was very nervous, scared, and excited. Since I know none of those feelings could have been caused by staring at the ceiling, I knew at once it was Lissa. I decided to see what was going on, hopefully something good this time, but with my luck, probably not.

Lissa was sitting in a room with Abe, my mother, a few guardians I didn't know, Adrian, Christian, Tasha, Eddie, and Dimitri. I was a little puzzled of the members in this group, why would all of them be sitting in a room together? I know this must have been awkward for a few of them, especially Adrian and Dimitri. But, Adrian looked drunk, and Dimitri had his famous Guardian mask on. At least that would explain why Adrian hasn't visited my dreams. Abe was talking to my mother, obviously about something important because she had her business face on. Lissa was trying to calm herself down, trying to hide her feelings. Hmm, I bet she is trying to keep me out of her head, blocking me. Why would she block me from this? Abe finally stopped talking to my mother and faced the rest of the group.

"Ok, I think we have a plan figured out. Since most of you are known for being acquainted with Rose, you will not help with his part of the plan." What? They were planning something to help me? I hope this wasn't a jail break out. Lissa and Eddie already have one of those on their tab because of me, I'd rather not be the reason for a second. But before I could dwell on that any longer he spoke again,

"I have a few guardians that are very well suited for this part of the plan. The kind of work I usually do, makes them very good spies." Ah, ok, so they are doing a little investigation of their own. That makes me feel ten times better, especially the part where they leave Lissa out of the plan. To Lissa's and mine surprise Dimitri spoke up,

"So what part of the plan do we start helping?" Whoa. I felt like I just got a bucket of cold water dumped on me. He was probably the last person I expected to be in that room, let alone the one to ask about helping first.

"That part I can't really talk about yet, but just know you will be needed after Rose gets out of jail." Dimitri frowned, and the rest of them looked clueless. I could feel confusion coming from Lissa. Good, because I have a feeling this was about the letter I showed him earlier. I hope he didn't tell anyone, not even my mother, yet. I have a feeling she would be against me going out to pursue Lissa's sibling.

"Alright, any other questions?" Abe asked, no one said anything, which I was a little disappointed about. I wanted to know more. I had a feeling Zmey was purposely trying to hide some things from me. I could even feel Lissa trying to stay at a boring apathetic mood, most likely trying to keep me out of her head. I decided to get back to my own head. This was just frustrating me.

I snapped back into my head, but brought back a sour mood with it. I didn't like not being apart of the action. I groaned out loud and threw my empty water bottle against the wall. It didn't release any frustration and only made a loud crunching sound when it hit the wall. My guards looked at me for a minute, until I snapped,

"What?" I was not in the mood for any commentary, although this would be a perfect time for "grandpa" to get back at me. They didn't say anything and just went back to staring at the wall. Somehow that frustrated me more. I decided to sleep it off, maybe I'll wake up for dinner. When I finally fell asleep, I was relieved, until I noticed this place looked awfully familiar. I turned around looking for the person I knew would be there, and found him leaning up against a tree, watching me. I was not ready for this.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:**_** I do not own Vampire Academy.**_

**I would like to thank everyone who has read my story so far, I have a very addictive reading habit when I get drawn into a book. So, for those like me, I'm going to update as much as possible. Right now, I don't have much on my plate as far as classes go, so I'm doing as much as I can right now! Please read and review! It's so encouraging to hear from people! **

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**Chapter 3**

I was standing there looking back at Adrian, hoping he wasn't checking out my aura. Maybe he wouldn't be able to piece together that my feelings of sadness and guilt were because I was

looking at him, and thinking about what I had to do. Maybe he would just write off those feelings, thinking they are because I'm locked up for a murder I didn't commit. Either way, this was

going to be awkward, I've never had to break up with someone before, and this was not what I imagined it would be like. Adrian sounded like the best guy. He was caring, forgiving, and

thoughtful-among other things. But I was lacking feelings for him, I couldn't meet the feelings he had for me, and that was why I couldn't let this go on anymore.

He must of seen my mental battle, because he walked right up to me and hugged me. I caught the smell of alcohol, just a little-I guess not enough to affect dream walking. At least I didn't

smell cigarettes.

"Little Dhampir, what seems to be bothering you, and don't tell me your fine, or state the obvious, I know something else is bothering you. You can tell me you know?" Damn. He was good. I

sighed, how was I going to do this? I didn't want to hurt him.

"Adrian, we need to talk." Wow, way to go Rose, isn't that how every break up conversation starts? I mentally punched myself. Adrian sighed, hugging me tighter before pulling me back to

look me in the eyes. He looked sad, but mostly knowing. I didn't know whether that was a good thing, or a sign he might just be in good control and then go crazy later. At least if it was later

I wouldn't be around to witness it.

"Rose, I knew this would happen sooner or later." He whispered. I think he was just trying to keep his emotions together, and the fact that he called me Rose instead of little dhampir, yeah

he was upset. I felt like my eyes were going to fill up with tears, so I closed them and put my head to his chest.

"Adrian, I… " How was I going to tell him? I knew exactly what I wanted to say, but I was scared of loosing him as a friend in the process.

"You don't feel the same way as I do?" He guessed. He already knew this. He knew how I felt about Dimitri from the very beginning.

"I love you, I just can't love you, as much as you love me." I finally told him.

"I already know this little Dhampir, I knew it from the beginning, and I took that chance to see if you could grow to love me, as I do you." His voice was completely steady, like he rehearsed it

a thousand times. Maybe I wasn't the only one who knew this would happen the next time we spoke.

"How can you be so nice to me, when all I do is hurt you?" I asked in a shaky voice. He laughed and looked down at me,

"Rose, you don't always hurt me, I love everything about you, and even if our time is coming to an end, I'll always be here for you." I sighed in relief. I still don't know how he is the calm one

in this situation, I'm Rose Hathaway for crying out loud.

"How come you're the calm one, while I'm a mess?" I asked him a little irritated now. He really laughed this time,

"Because I knew for awhile this was coming, and I think its funny that you took so long to realize it. I knew as soon as Belikov came back, you would want to try and patch things up with

him." I scowled at him, and before my better judgment took over I blurted out,

"Dimitri has changed, I don't think he would even look my way if he didn't have to."

Adrian raised an eye brow, and I stared at him like he was an idiot. Duh, Dimitri wouldn't even let me talk to him when he first got back. Maybe Adrian _was_ loosing it.

"Little Dhampir, I think you'll change your mind after you get out of prison." He said cocking his head towards me. I was so confused, and that comment just reminded me of why I wanted to

sleep in the first place.

"Oh yeah, what the hell is going on? I saw the last part of the little pow wow everyone went to, and Liss is trying to block me I think." I stared at him with an evil glare, which didn't work

because he just laughed again. He was loosing it.

"You're not suppose to know, that way you can't ruin what Abe has going when you go to court, he thinks you'll just blurt everything out." Wow, how dense do all of them think I am?

"Hey! What is that suppose to mean? I can keep my mouth shut if I have to" I said with a scowl, which Adrian just raised an eye brow again.

"Ok, whatever. I guess I can see why he wouldn't want to tell me. But, honestly I would rather know what I'm getting myself into before my trial, whenever it is…" I had no idea when my trial

was, you would figure someone would let me know, considering I was the guest of honor, so to speak.

"Rose?" Adrian lifted his eye brows, "Your trial is tomorrow."

"What? How come no one told me? What the hell?" I bet it was "grandpa" that was suppose to tell me, I guess I shouldn't have pissed him off, karma bit me in the ass on that one. Adrian

shrugged.

"I guess they thought it didn't matter, your schedule is clear obviously." I glared at him, I didn't care for that joke. But, when he smiled, I rolled my eyes. Curiosity got the better of me and I

had to know more about Abe and his planning.

"So what is your part of this plan then?" I asked innocently, not flirty though, I didn't want to hurt him. But, again he laughed. That was starting to get annoying.

"That _is_ something I can tell you…" He paused staring at me, most likely trying to annoy me with suspense. I caved,

"For god's sakes Adrian, spit it out!" I was getting frustrated, so I glared at him. I began to wonder if I punched him in a dream, if he'd wake up with a bruise. He seemed to know what I was

thinking and continued.

"Ok, I can tell you my part, because I don't have a very big one. In fact, I don't have a part of the plan at all. Not at the moment anyway. I'm here for backup, incase I am needed." He said

with a straight face. I was so confused, if he was in the room with everyone, then why wouldn't he be a part of the plan. But, from the look on his face, I believed him.

"You know, that doesn't help me much. I'm still super confused." I sighed, this dream was mentally draining me. Who knew you could get tired in a dream? He kissed my forehead, and then

looked me in the eyes, his face was completely serious. It almost scared me, considering he was the one joking around a few seconds before.

"Rose, I want you to know, whatever happens in court tomorrow, I'll be there for you no matter what." He was completely serious, and it scared the hell out of me.

"Adrian, you know something you're not telling me." I was begging him with my eyes. But then he smiled, hugged me and stepped away. I was so confused. But with a smile on his face he

said,

"Your waking up now Rose, I'll see you tomorrow in court. Good luck, little Dhampir." And the dream faded away.

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**I hope you liked it! Please leave me reviews! **


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:**_** I do not own Vampire Academy.**_

**New chapter! This chapter is going to be harder to write for me, I know where I want my story to go, but I have a feeling I might hit some rough spots, so if it seems a little off, I apologize. Please tell me how you feel by leaving reviews!**

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I woke up to the guard bringing me my dinner, in- yup you guessed it, a brown bag. Well, at least I know I won't have to have too many meals like this. I walked over to grab my dinner, and

looked over at the guards. Glared would be more like it, I waited until "grandpa" looked at me,

"So, when were you going to tell me my trial was tomorrow?" I said through my teeth. They all stared at me in confusion; clearly they all knew I was never told when my trial would be.

"Thanks a lot, ass holes." I said before I turned around and walked back to my cot. I set my dinner next to me, I didn't even look in the bag, I was too keyed up to eat right now anyway. I

can't believe my trial was going to be tomorrow. Don't these things take forever? I've only been in here for a few days. I sighed, I guess the murdering the Queen gets you on the fast track

to trial, lucky me. But then again, lucky me, Abe said they had a plan, and no one at the "little pow wow" as I called it earlier, seemed upset, or even worried about me being executed. I

guess I should trust Abe, he seemed sly enough to find information to get me out of this hell hole, or sly enough to frame someone else. I hope he went with the first one, I wouldn't condone

this on anyone, well maybe a few people.

Adrian had me worried though, he was fine about the break-up, joking around even. But, right before I woke up, he seemed nervous, and got all serious. I wish he would have just told me,

he looked like he was scared he was going to lose me. This didn't help my confidence about making it out of the trial with a clean name. I sighed, for what it seemed like the millionth time in a

day. I'm screwed. I wish I had asked Adrian what time my trial was tomorrow, that would've been nice. Now I'm going to be a mess all day tomorrow until its time to go. Unless, my trial is in

the morning… well, shit. Now I'm just going to be a mess all night. I wanted to hit my head against the wall in frustration, but I wasn't going to give "grandpa" anything to use for jokes later,

so I tried to sit there and look calm.

I was starting to worry about Lissa again, what if they did execute me? This would destroy her, really. She will fall apart, and I don't want to brag, but I don't think Christian can pick up the

pieces if I was not there. Since I was pondering about Lissa, my brain automatically reached out for her, to get a feel of her emotions. I still felt some fear and sadness, but she was trying to

cover it up. There was also a hint of excitement mingling along with everything. That was confusing… Why was everyone giving me a headache? I decided to block her, she was obviously

trying to block me, and I'll only make my worry worse, making up things she is trying to hide.

I decided to move on to someone else, who else was in that meeting Abe was constructing? A few were surprising to see in the group, Dimitri was one, but I totally over looked Tasha. Now I

think about it, _what the hell was she doing there?_ I know she doesn't have any pull with the Moroi, so why was she needed? Even Dimitri has sadly lost most pull, which is stupid, he is clearly

Dhampir again. This plan of Abe's was either so horrible I couldn't follow it, or they knew a great deal of information that I couldn't piece together what they were doing. I'm hoping for the

second one. Neither Eddie's or my mother's presence didn't surprise me, although a couple months ago, my mother's would have. We still don't have the perfect "mother, daughter" thing

going on, but it's gotten better. Eddie was self explanatory, he was a badass guardian and trustworthy friend. I moved on the Christian next, at first I would say he was just there for Lissa,

but I doubt Abe would let someone to just sit and be there for a member he invited to his meeting, each one had to have a purpose. At least I knew what those Guardians Abe brought were

for, I still would like to know their names, maybe I could learn a few things from them, if they are as good as Abe says. That thought actually brought a smile to my face; I couldn't wait to

train again. I haven't done any real physical work since we busted Victor out and changed Dimitri back. I was dying to get back into the groove of things. I sighed; it wasn't going to happen

tonight, so I might as well forget about that for now.

I finally opened up my dinner; I knew I was going to have a bottle of water. I pulled out a sandwich, great I thought, if this is the same kind I had for lunch I was going to throw it at the

guards, but lucky for them, it was different. I reached into the bag again and pulled out a cookie. Oh, god bless whoever put that in there. I was ready for some sweets.

When I was finishing up my dinner, I saw the guards switching shifts. I remembered that I probably wouldn't see these two again, so with a smirk on my face, I yelled,

"See ya later gramps" I wasn't surprised when he didn't look back at me, the woman smirked a little, and the two new guards muffled some laughter.

I looked at the two new guards, both were male, and I was hoping they didn't have to watch me shower tomorrow, but I wasn't too worried about it, I was just excited that this could be my

last night sleeping in this hell hole.

I woke up the next morning to one of the guards saying my name. I groaned, It felt so early, why wouldn't I be able to sleep in, It's not like I have anything to do around here. Then I

remember what was happening today, _oh shit. _I shot out of my cot, while I got some weird stares from the guards. There was another woman guardian standing there watching me too.

"Shower time, Hathaway." Said the guard that was trying to wake me up, trying not to laugh.

"What am I suppose to change into?" I asked, a little angry. One guard laughed out loud,

"There were some clothes sent here this morning, they are the clothes you are to wear to the trial." He started laughing again and then added,

"We almost thought about putting a jumpsuit in place of your delivered clothes, but we've heard some stories about you Hathaway." I actually smirked at that. Good, I thought, maybe some

of the guardians won't mess around with me.

"You'd regret if you did." I said with a sly smile. The woman came to the door and let me out to follow her to the shower room. They let me pamper myself a little, seeing as I was to go to

court today. I was supplied with a black guardian uniform, which surprised me; I couldn't believe they would let a "criminal" wear the uniform, but whatever. I pulled my hair up into a neat

bun, showing off my marks. When I was done I was escorted back to my cell to wait. I had just sat down on my cot, when Abe came in with his two guardians. No words were spoken, and

my regular guards walked out to leave us alone. Abe walked up to the bars to talk to me, with a smile on his face.

"Well, you don't seem worried Zmey, what do you have up your sleeve this time?" His smile grew.

"Rose, this will be easy, just wait and see. Why do you think I sent you a uniform, they will have release you today, because I have everything I need to clear your name. Just let me finish

what I started, and keep your mouth shut, unless I tell you otherwise." I would've thought he was being an ass, but he was smiling like an idiot when he said it. All I could do was return the

smile.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: **_**I do not own Vampire Academy.**_

**I hope everyone has been enjoying my story so far, please let me know though! **_**Review Please**_**!**

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**Chapter 5**

As I was being escorted to my trial, I still had the smile plastered of my face from my talk with Abe. He seemed so confident that it was contagious. I was ready to get this over with.

As I walked in the court room, my smile faltered as I saw Adrian sitting with the rest of the group, the expression on his face was horrible. I glanced towards Lissa questionably; she

immediately knew what my concerns were. '_The truth was a little hard on him. You'll understand after the trial. Oh, Rose, I can't wait until this is over, we've got so many things to talk about.' _No

kidding, I thought. I still didn't understand what she meant by the truth was hard on him. But, since the bond only works one way, I couldn't ask, and I was being pulled along to take my

spot. I took my seat next to Abe, looking around the room, trying to find everyone I knew. Lissa, Christian, Adrian, Eddie, Mia, and Tasha, all sat in the back. Only Adrian was showing any

worry on his face. My mother, Dimitri, and Abe's guardians all sat in front of them. It was weird to see my mother sitting next to Dimitri, I wonder if she knew about us. I mentally laughed

remembering the conversation between Dimitri and me about telling my mother that we were together, he seemed scared of her then. That made me wonder if he knew Abe was my father,

he can be scary too. Adrian could second that. I was so lost in my thoughts I hadn't realized the trial had already started.

Iris Kane was bringing up all the evidence she had against me, which according to her, was hard evidence. I guess she thought she had everything she needed from the start, because from

what I saw, she hadn't added any new "evidence", since the hearing.

"Here your Honor, we have Ms. Hathaway's personal stake, with her finger prints on the murder weapon." Iris sang out so everyone in the courtroom could hear her. Yawn. We've already

been through this; I wanted to fast-forward this to the part where Abe found all the evidence to get my ass out of here. As I looked over at Abe he seemed as bored as I did, at least I

wasn't the only one suffering. I spaced out again, waiting for our turn in court. I started to think about how I was going to find Lissa's sibling and where to even start looking. Not to mention

I needed to train before I went to go look, especially if I was going out of the safety of the wards. There are a lot of strogoi out there that know me by name, and would love to kill me. Damn.

I was going to have to really train for this.

I was pulled out of my thoughts when Abe stood up, getting ready to defend me.

"Your Honor, it is my privilege to tell you that Rosemarie Hathaway is innocent, and I can prove it. I can also prove who the real killer of the late Queen Tatiana Ivashkov is." He said with a

smile. Without waiting for a response he continued,

"My client was framed for the murder of the Queen, not only because she was publicly known for bantering with the Queen, but because this person had a grudge against Rose herself." He

said calmly. I was eager to find out who this person was, and why they had a grudge against me. At least I didn't have to wait long.

"It is time to bring to everyone's attention, Daniella Ivashkov." Abe finally said. The room erupted into ciaos, people were screaming at Abe, the Judge, and at each other. I sat there frozen,

_what did he just say?_ I was starting to worry that Abe didn't get his facts straight. Adrian's mom? No, she was one of the few royal moroi that actually liked me. She had even tried to help me

get a lawyer, her family lawyer. Then it hit me. For some reason I thought of the reading Rhonda gave me before I got arrested. _'"The Queen of swords is clever. She thrives on knowledge, can_

_ outwit her enemies, and is ambitious. I sighed, 'But upside down…' 'Upside down,' said Rhonda, 'all of those traits get twisted. She's still smart, still trying to get her way… but she's doing it through_

_ insincere ways. There's a lot of hostility and deception here. I'd say you have an enemy.' _Well, shit. At the time I thought she meant the Queen. I didn't even think about it differently when I

received that letter, how dense am I?

"Order! I will have order in this courtroom!" The Judge frantically tried to calm the room down, which, didn't work. So she added,

"Guards! Quickly remove anyone who is not involved in this trial, I need to bring order immediately!" With guardian speed they started to remove everyone that didn't get up willingly to

leave. Not five minutes later, the room was practically empty aside from Abe, myself, Iris Kane, a few guardians and the Judge. Abe looked down at me and smiled evilly. Was this part of his

plan all along?

"Mr. Mazur and Ms. Kane please approach." said the Judge. I heard whispering arguments coming from Iris; apparently she wasn't happy with whatever decision was being made. When they

made there way back to their seats, the judge said,

"It has come to the conclusion that since we can not have order with an open court, this trial will remain closed until the verdict is made. You may proceed Mr. Mazur." And with that, Abe took

off.

"Thank you, your Honor. I was hoping this trial would become a closed one, I have evidence that I could not share with the public, as it is vital to be kept a secret." Oh, please, no. I was

mentally crossing my fingers and praying that he was not talking about the note Tatiana gave me. But I knew that's what he was going for.

"After Rose's hearing" Abe continued, "She was given a note. This note had information that cannot be shared with the public. So if this information is shared with the witnesses in court

today, it cannot go any further than here." Abe finished, looking directly at the judge. I wanted to die, what did he think he was doing? He could ruin everything.

"Mr. Mazur, I can assure you, that nothing but the verdict will be disclosed to the public, you shall continue." The judge said nodding her head. Iris looked as she wanted to scream.

"Rose, can I have the letter?" Abe asked, I shot him a glare, but handed it to him. I hope he knew what he was doing.

"This letter alone can get Rose cleared, but we did not want to come out with it as our only evidence, as it is very vital to keep it a secret." Abe said before reading the letter out loud, when

he was done, no one said anything. Finally Iris jumped in,

"Mr. Mazur, we will need to see it, to make sure it is not a fake." Of course, Abe was already prepared for that.

"I have brought many samples of the late Queen's letters, all with her personal handwriting for everyone to compare to. But, before we do that, I would like to continue to why I brought

Daniella Ivashkov's name to attention." My head snapped up to this, I wasn't sure if I was ready to hear what he had to say or not. But, he continued anyway,

"Lady Ivashkov had a few reasons to blame this on my client. Her son and my client were in a relationship that Lady Ivashkov was secretly not happy with; she also saw it convenient to

blame this on my client because of the public bantering between the queen and Ms. Hathaway. Also, as it says in the letter, the Dragomir Princess has an unknown sibling. There were

recently files stolen from the Alchemist's records, records of Eric Dragomir. The Alchemist's were uncertain of who had stolen the files, and why." No kidding I thought, Sydney had even

questioned me over it. "They thought that all their tapes had been destroyed, leaving them with no record of who could've stolen them. But, the thief missed one camera. The Alchemist's

found that the thief was no other than Daniella Ivashkov. The real question is, why would she steal them? She obviously knows that the Princess has a sibling, and wants to keep her off the

council." I began to boil in my seat, its one thing to do something to me, its another thing to do something to Lissa. Daniella will pay for this. My thoughts were interrupted with Abe

continuing,

"Danielle Ivashkov is already under the punishment of the Alchemist's, so she is not available to attend today's trial. But, I would like to show you more evidence that will prove Rose's

innocence." Abe said as he pulled out a tape and strode over to the large projector.

"This is the tape of the queen's bedroom, no one knew she kept a recording in her room, other than a close friend. He requested to be kept unnamed." Ambrose, I should've seen that one

coming. EW, and I bet I know why he knew about cameras in her bedroom. I wouldn't want everyone knowing my name either. As we watched the footage, we all watched as Daniella, and

another person entered the Queen's bedroom. No one could see who the man was, but it was clear it was a man. A moroi man, too tall and thin to be dhampir. He was the one holding the

stake, my stake. They were both wearing gloves, and didn't pause as they entered and staked the queen. Then, as quickly as they came, they left. Leaving the queen bleeding on her bed.

"Well" said the Judge, clearly not ready for that. "Is there anything else Mr. Mazur?"

"No your Honor, I think that is all I have." Abe said with a sly smile.

"Ms. Kane, do you have anything you would like to add?" asked the Judge with a raised eye brow.

"Um, no your Honor. In fact, I would like to drop all charges made against Guardian Hathaway." Iris said with a shaky voice. I smiled at Abe when she used my guardian title.

"Very well then, all charges against Guardian Rosemarie Hathaway, are here by dropped" Said the judge. I didn't hear anything after that, I just sat there, trying to take it all in. I was free. I

was not going to die, I wasn't going back to that hell hole, and I was going to walk out with a clean name. I jumped up and hugged Abe,

"I don't know what to say old man" I said squeezing him. I could tell he was shocked, considering we've never had any kind of father-daughter relationship. He hugged me back awkwardly,

and laughed.

"Well, let's just say you owe me." He said as I glared at him. He just laughed some more. I decided to worry about if he was serious later. I wanted to enjoy my freedom as soon as possible.

"So, what do we do now?" I said awkwardly. I noticed everyone was starting to pack up and leave.

"Let's go out the back, that way you won't have to deal with the public right away." Abe suggested. I wasn't going to protest either, dealing with all the political mess wasn't something I was

looking forward to.

I let Abe and his guardians lead me out the back, while everyone else went out the front, I assume to relay the verdict. I began to think of what I needed to do next, which was making a

plan. I turned to Abe and whispered,

"We need to have another one of your pow wow's" I remembered him saying to some of the people in the room that they would be needed after I get out of jail. I didn't want to waste any

time finding Lissa's sibling.

"I've already arranged a meeting after the trial, as soon as everyone notices that its over, they know where to meet." Abe said laughing. I couldn't say I was shocked, Zmey had also pulled

things out of his sleeves, I should've known how organized he was.

"Thanks, I guess this would be a good time to tell Lissa about that note." Although I wasn't sure that I should tell her in front of that many people. But, I guess I'll figure that out when the

time comes.

We walked the rest of the way in silence, all the way back to a room, which I'm guessing is one of Abe's considering it was outrageously nice. No one was there yet, so I decided to relax and

wait for everyone to show up. Abe decided to take this time to make a few phone calls. I guess I wasn't the only business he was taking care of at the moment.

I sat down on one of the couches and let my hair down. It was up long enough to have an extra wave in it from being in a bun. I was glad I didn't cut it, I loved my hair. I started looking

around, getting anxious. Wanting someone to talk to I looked over to Abe's guardians. They were both male, one around Dimitri's age, the other looked like he might be in his forties.

"So, I'm guessing since you two are his guardians, you must be pretty bad ass." I said you them both. The younger one smiled and said,

"You could say that, I know I've learned a few things they didn't teach in school." The other one just laughed at that.

"I don't doubt that." I said flatly looking at Zmey.

"My name is Demyan, Demyan Nevsky. This is Jemal Tevfik" He said nodding to his partner. Who just smiled slightly giving me a polite nod.

"I'm guessing you're Russian, from hearing your accent." I'd spent my fair share of time in Russia to pick up on the accent, plus I've been around Dimitri enough to know what it sounds like.

Demyan was nodding his head at this,

"Yeah, this is actually my first job outside of Russia, I haven't been with Mr. Mazur but for a few months now." I mentally cringed, remembering why Zmey was in Russia in the first place, to

get me. Hoping they didn't see my mood change, I switched topics,

"So, then, you can show me everything you've learned then huh? Because I'm going to need to train soon. I've got a few things I need to take care of." Jemal didn't seem to care, but

Demyan was nodding enthusiastically, but before he could say anything the door opened.

Lissa, Christian, and Adrian walked in, and I ran halfway to meet them. Lissa practically knocked me over hugging me.

"Oh, thank god Rose! Do you know how hard it was keeping this all a secret from you? Mentally draining!" She laughed. I didn't care at the moment I was just glad to see her.

"Oh, well it's over now. Everything's going to be alright." I stepped back, smiling at her. Then I looked over at Adrian, and my smile fell. Before I knew it I was hugging him,

"I'm so sorry Adrian, I had no idea." I didn't know what else to say to him. What do you say to someone in that situation? I felt him sigh in relief.

"Little Dhampir, I was just worried you wouldn't want to be around me anymore. I'm the one whose sorry, I'm sorry you had to go through all of that." He whispered into my hair. I shook my

head.

"No, don't be." I hugged him for a little longer before letting go. When I looked at him he was smiling again. Then I turned to Christian, who surprisingly hadn't said anything since they

walked in.

"Well, look who finally decided to come to there senses. Took you long enough fire boy, I was about to punch some sense into you if you didn't make up with her any sooner." I said to

Christian with a smirk. He glared at me,

"Let's not talk about my love life, because I don't think you'll enjoy me bringing up yours" He finished with an evil grin.

"You do, and you're dead." I snapped feeling my face getting hot. He laughed of course and hugged me, which totally caught me off guard. But, thankfully the rest of the group showed up

and ended my awkward moment with Christian. I felt Dimitri's gaze on my as we all walked to the sitting area. Abe had joined the rest of us and took a seat, it looked like I was the one to

take charge of this pow wow. I gestured for everyone to have a seat. As I looked at all the people in the room, I could tell everyone except Abe was still unaware of what I today's topic was

about. I was getting nervous, I didn't know how I was going to say this to everyone. I was worried how Lissa was going to take the news about her father. I looked over at Dimitri, his eyes

staring right into mine. Somehow that gave me what I needed to go on. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the letter.

"This is a letter I received right after my hearing. It is from Queen Tatiana." I paused when I hear a few people gasp. Then I continued, "What I'm about to read to you, can not be repeated

to anyone, only those in this room can know." I took one last look at Lissa, and gave her a small smile before reading the letter out loud.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: **_**I do not own Vampire Academy. **_

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_**Chapter 6**_

After I was done reading the letter, I felt a flood of grief through the bond. I instantly felt guilty for reading this in front of people and not telling Lissa before. Before anyone had a chance to

comment, I ran over to Lissa.

"Be right back." I said dragging her in tow. I took her to a room far enough away so the others wouldn't hear us talking. I shut the door and turned back to her,

"Lissa, I shouldn't have done that, I should've told you before reading it out in front of everyone like that, I'm sorry." I said watching her.

"No, it's ok Rose. I'm just hurt, I thought he loved my mom. How could he do this to her?" She cried, holding her arms around herself. I ran up to hold her,

"He did love your mother, we both know that. Maybe he just made a few mistakes. You and I both know how hard it can be to have relationships, we've both made some mistakes before. I

think you need to forgive him, he loved all of you, and wouldn't intentionally hurt any of you. And besides, now you have a sister, or a brother. You have family." I said to her, thinking that

sounded way above my maturity level.

"I already have a wonderful sister." She said smiling at me. I kissed her on the check,

"Of course, an extremely cool and bad ass sister, that would kick anyone's ass is they messed with you." I finished with a wink. She laughed a little.

"Rose, you will never change, but I don't think I ever want you to. My life has been flipped upside down these past three years, and you've been my rock through it all. Something to hold

onto, to help me keep my sanity" She said shaking her head. She meant it to be a compliment, but the last part hit home a little too closely than we would like, of course I helped her keep

her sanity. I drew all the darkness away from her, which made me crazy in return. But, I smiled at her anyway, and said,

"I love you Lissa, and Ill always be your rock. No matter how corny it sounds." I hugged her as we both laughed. "Come on, we need to get back out there, we've got some a few things to

plan out." I said as I opened the door.

I took my place in front of eager eyes, and waited for Lissa to get situated before continuing with my meeting. I smiled as I watched Christian take her hand in his. Time for business though,

so I took a big breath and then said,

"Well, I guess everyone now knows why were having the meeting. At first, I didn't plan on having this many people help me with finding Lissa's sibling. I thought it was going to be a one

man job, but thanks to Zmey, I guess that is why you all are here." I said it questionably, because looking at this group, I wasn't sure if they all wanted to help me or not. I looked at Abe and

said,

"So Zmey, Why the hell this group?" then looking at everyone else "No offense, I just thought it seemed strange when I was spying on everyone a couple days ago." A few people laughed at

me, partly because I was insulting them, and partly because I was dropping any formal meeting style I had before that.

"At the moment you have little to no clues about where to start looking. You are also going outside the safety of the wards to look for this person. So, you will need all the kinds of help you

can get." Abe said like it was obvious. It was, but with my attitude had to stick up for myself.

"Hey, might I remind you, I went outside the wards when I was still a novice and fought down Strogoi." I bragged.

"Oh, I remember, and how did that end up for you?" Abe replied, raising an eye brow. I watched Dimitri flinch out of the corner of my eye. I glared at him,

"Hey, I made it back in one piece!" I snapped back.

"So you were the one Mr. Mazur went to retrieve in Russia? I heard some stories around town about you and a few other un-promised dhampirs going strogoi hunting. I have to say, I was

actually impressed with the number of strogoi you all took out." Demyan said, earning a look from almost everyone in the room.

"Yeah, it's a long story." I said, feeling a little uneasy with the look my mother was giving me. I hadn't told her about that part of my trip to Russia. Beside her, Dimitri was just staring at the

ground, great I thought, he obviously isn't over any of this. Thankfully, Abe saved our awkward silence,

"Rose, look around and tell me why you think I gathered this group together." Ugh, why is he making me guess? But, I sighed and looked at everyone in the room.

"Well, your guardians I can learn a few things from, and Dimitri, my mother, and Eddie all can be a huge help. Brute force and all that." I said then turning to the others, I started shaking my

head,

"Sorry guys, but I am clueless as to why he included you. Also, a little mad he would endanger you." I said with a glare towards Abe.

"Little Dhampir? What are you trying to say? You don't think my charming personality isn't a quality that can be useful for your important mission?" Adrian said jokingly. I smiled at him, glad he

was going back to the old Adrian I knew and loved. Then it hit me,

"Well, Adrian, now that you say it that way, that's exactly why you're included." Then looked at Abe I added, "Isn't it?" He smiled, nodding. Abe planned on using Moroi magic to help.

"Adrian and Lissa's charming personalities along with Christian and Tasha's fiery ones." I said with a laugh, finally getting why he included them.

"Don't forget about your old man" Abe said, causing a few stares, I guess we forgot some of them didn't know Abe was my father.

"Oh, yeah, what's your element Zmey?" I asked ignoring the stares we were getting from the 'old man' comment.

"Fire, of course." he shrugged, like it was obvious. I rolled my eyes.

"Okay, so now that we know why everyone is useful, we should go ahead and start planning." I sighed, I didn't know where to start first. Seeing the look on my face, my mother decided to

step in, which I was a little relieved about, other than this was my meeting and she was about to take charge and make her own.

"Let's start by going over anything you already know." She said, trying to lead me, thankfully not trying to take over.

"Okay, well." I sighed, I was going to have to get into the story about Vegas, I hoped no questions came up that I didn't want to answer. I don't think anyone here would turn me in for

busting Victor out of jail, considering they all worked so hard to get me out of jail. But, my mother was a force to be reckoned with, so I wasn't going to say anything unless forced into it.

"When we were in Vegas, we heard something interesting about Eric Dragomir from a club owner. I wanted to know more, so Adrian got a few details out of him. It wasn't much, but it could

point us in a direction to get us started." I paused and looked at Lissa, when she nodded I continued. "The manager said that Eric had been a regular there, and spent a lot of time with the

show girls." Lissa cringed, and Christian squeezed her hand. I sighed, I hated talking about him like this, I loved Lissa's family. "Sydney contacted me before my arrest telling me someone

had stolen files on Eric, and would only tell me they were information about a bank account he had set up for a 'Jane Doe', which I'm assuming is for the mistress and the child." I finished,

staring at the rest of them. Of course, my mother had to ask,

"Why did she seek _you_ out and _give_ you this information?" She asked confused. I sighed, I knew she was going to ask questions like these, but I answered honestly anyway.

"She thought I was the one who broke in and stole the files." I said with a small laugh, looking over and Lissa and Eddie. They looked a little uneasy, hoping the other break-in didn't get

brought up. Adrian was laughing out loud. I smiled at him. "I don't blame them, I'm clearly good enough to break in and get out undetected." I bragged.

"Rosemarie, I highly doubt that. And, don't act like it was a compliment, you don't want people to think you would do that in the first place." She tried to correct me. I almost blurted out that I

had been that good, but I figured that bringing up that would be much worse. Deciding to move on, I sighed and said,

"Well, that's all I have so far. I would like Sydney to give me more information though." I said looking at Abe, hoping he got the hint. He nodded,

"I'll send for her, she won't feel comfortable staying here, so she will give us what we need faster." He said with a sly smile. I scowled at him,

"Zmey, I know how you work and all, but I actually do like her, so play nice." I chastised. Sydney was actually someone I would call a friend. She was awkwardly there for me in Russia, even

though it wasn't by choice. Id like to think I'm her favorite creature of the night, even though that's not saying much, she cringes away from all of us. "Well, until then, I need to get back to

training. I think we all do." I said looking around the room. "Even the moroi, we need to practice all together, and separately." I finished with a smile, I couldn't help thinking about how

training with Dimitri had been the high light of my life for so long. Hopefully this wasn't going to ruin that, he still seemed like he was spacing out, thinking about things that happened in

Russia. I forced myself to stop thinking about him, I needed to get over him. He made his feelings clear in the chapel, although, he did seem quick to defend me in the café. Ugh. My love life

sucks.

I was snapped out of my pathetic worrying over my love life when my mother spoke up.

"We need to come up with a schedule then. Who will practice with who, and when. The schedule needs to rotate, that way we all have practice with each other." My mother said wisely. I

nodded, this was the part I wanted to start right away.

"Okay, the main thing I want to learn is from them." I said pointing at Abe's two guardians. Everyone turned to look at them when I did. Demyan had a huge smile on his face, but Jemal

looked bored. I looked down at Dimitri, he had turned to look at them along with the rest of us, but I saw for a split second something in his eyes said he wasn't happy with the way Demyan

was smiling. Dimitri jealous? That was hard to believe, especially after how long he had been trying to act like he didn't care. A part of me hoped he was jealous, the other part of me wanted

to slap the other. I mentally sighed. Then looked at my mom,

"So, how do you think we should schedule this? My schedule isn't busy, as long as Hans' doesn't drag me in for more filing." I said with a grimace. Lissa politely cleared her throat,

"Well, why don't we start with a schedule similar to the Academy's. Or, a half day anyway. The novices did combat classes for the first half of the day, if we do that, then we can get a good

amount of training in, as we decide our next move." Lissa said thoughtfully. I smiled at her, she always had good ideas.

"That's not a bad idea Princess, and we could do this in groups, or pairings at different times of the day. Train with more than one person a day, it would be like switching classes." My mother

said nodding.

"Guardians could help train the moroi physically, building up stamina." I said thinking out loud.

"We also need to learn how to fight together, guardians are use to having to always protect moroi. We need to be able to depend on each other." Dimitri added, I was surprised he was

even aware of the topic, but when I looked at him, he had that old Dimitri look back, the one where he was so passionate about what he was talking about. The one I loved. I started

nodding in agreement, this sounded like a good plan.

"Well, since Rose and I are such a fantastic duo, I guess we can train everyone else on how to work together." Christian said. I rolled my eyes, and turned to him.

"How many times? Twice, we worked together? I wouldn't call us experts, sparky." I smirked at him. It didn't change his mood though, he still seemed amused.

"We're just that good Rose." He replied. I laughed shaking my head.

"Back to business, I say we start as soon as possible. I'm down to start today, hell, now even." I said starting to get excited. I hadn't sparred with anyone in a long time, I was anxious to

learn a few things too.

"How do you suggest we start training, physically I mean?" Adrian asked, and when he looked at me he wagged his eyebrows. I ignored it.

"Running." Dimitri and I said at the same time. I looked at him, and smiled. He looked like he was going to return it for a split second but then looked away. I mentally groaned, he was

frustrating. I turned back to Adrian,

"And yes, that means you actually have to stop smoking, if you don't want to die out there." I said with a smirk. He just frowned at me, obviously not liking the idea.

So it was decided, we would have half day trainings. The guardians would help train the moroi, which I was going to enjoy. Especially Adrian and Christian, this will be pay back for any

comments made to my expense. It was also decided that we would start tomorrow, to my disliking. We would all start tomorrow morning- except for Abe, he was somehow exempt from the

training. We would all start with running, then we would split into groups, and switch groups three times, once every hour and a half. I had spaced out when it was decided who would be in

my first group, I wasn't too worried. When the meeting was over, everyone started to get up to leave, I wanted to talk to Dimitri alone, but Demyan caught my attention before I could say

anything to Dimitri.

"So, you were serious about wanting to learn a few things, huh?" He said smiling at me. I had an uneasy feeling that he was starting to like me. I wasn't ready for that. But, there was no

way I was going to turn down his offer, and Jemal didn't seem to thrilled about teaching me anything. So I smiled back and said,

"Of course, although I'm pretty bad ass already." I mused. Demyan chuckled,

"So I hear. Say, do you want to get a head start? We could start this evening." Demyan suggested. Yeah, he was too eager to start training, he defiantly liked me.

"Um, sure. I'll meet you in a couple hours at the gym." I said as I turned for the door. As I walked out of the room, I ran right into a wall of flesh, a 6'7" Russian wall of flesh.

"Whoa, comrade, you usually people don't stand in door ways." I said as I gathered my balance. He was just looking down at me, I couldn't read the emotions behind his eyes, he had that

guardian mask up. Damn that mask.

"Do you know what you're doing, Rose?" Dimitri asked.

"Um… What?" I asked, I had no idea what he was talking about.

"Training with Demyan, Do you know what you're doing? Getting into a situation like that right now can be risky." He suggested. I just stared at him, had he lost it? How dare he?

"Excuse me, but who the hell put you in charge of my life? If I remember correctly, I turned 18 a while ago. Plus, you're not my mentor anymore. No more Zen life lessons. Back. Off." I said

through my teeth. I said pushing past him. He grab my arm and pulled me back though.

"Rose, I'm not trying to tell you what to do. I'm just trying to warn you, you want to focus on Lissa right now. Getting her that spot on the council, that is what is important right now. Not

running off with Deyman." He growled. He was making a valid point, other than I wasn't planning on running off with Deyman. In fact, he was the one that suggested I was.

"Is there a little jealousy in your voice, comrade?" I asked, glaring at him. He instantly let go of me then, and stepped back. Then I remembered Deyman was around the same and as Dimitri,

and from Russia. "Do you know him? Deyman I mean? Is that why you're jumping my case?" I asked,

"I'm not jumping your case, Rose." Dimitri said.

"You didn't answer the question." I said coldly. Trying to push him into it.

"I've met him before." He simply stated, trying to make it seem like it wasn't important anymore. I waited for more, but the look on his face said he wasn't going to go any further.

"So, you don't like him, that's why you don't want me training with him?" I asked. Dimitri just watched me carefully for a moment,

"I never said that I didn't like him, I have just heard things about him. Back in Russia." Dimitri finally replied. I sighed, this was getting exhausting.

"So, you said the same thing about Adrian. Sure, Adrian's a flirt, but I'm sure I can handle myself." I sighed, showing I was tired of this conversation. "Look, comrade, you don't trust him

around me, train with us." I suggested, secretly hoping this would hook him in to spend more time with me.

"Um. Well, that's not what I had in mind." Dimitri said looking dumb founded. I apparently caught him off guard. Before he could say anymore, I gave him an evil smile and grabbed his arm

pulling him towards the gym. To my surprise he didn't protest, maybe he was too shocked at what I was doing. Good, I didn't want to him to leave. He let me drag him all the way to the gym.

I stopped on the mat and faced him. He seemed serious now, I worried for a minute that he was going to change his mind and leave, not that I gave him a chance to even decide if he was

going to come along or not.

"Rose, I don't want to play games." Dimitri said, looking tired.

"Good, me either. I've got some frustration to work out" yeah, I thought. _Sexual frustration_. "Plus, I know you can take it. So just humor me and spar with me." I said with a bit of attitude. He

finally sighed, and got down in a fighting stance. I got into a symmetrical stance across from him, looked at him with an evil grin and said,

"Are you sure you're ready for this, comrade?" Dimitri raised an eye brow, finally showing something other than boredom.

"Roza, are you forgetting who taught you everything you know?" He smiled back.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy.**

**Please, Please, PLEASE LEAVE ME SOME FEEDBACK. REVIEW! I decided to slow down on my updating a little, I feel like I'm going to rush through writing and end up not liking what I have, so I apologize for the longer wait! But, again please let me know what you think! **

**Sorry it's a short update, but I'll try to update again soon.**

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**Chapter 7**

It could have been the fact that I hadn't practiced in awhile, or maybe because I think too highly of myself, but it was probably because he called me _Roza_. But, no matter the reason, I found

myself knocked right on my ass, winded, within the first three seconds of our spar. He apparently didn't notice himself slip, because he was staring at me in confusion when he knocked me

down so quickly.

"Have you not been practicing at all? You could've blocked that before I trained you." He exaggerated, helping me up.

"Yes comrade, I found time out of my busy schedule in jail to train." I replied flatly. "Let's go again." I wanted to prove myself to him, although he already knew how good I was. There were

numerous times I fought him when he was strogoi. This was different though, this was the real Dimitri, and I wanted to prove myself to him. The real Dimitri and I hadn't sparred since I was a

novice. So hopefully I could be the one to knock him on _his_ ass.

We continued to go at it, both blocking most of each others moves. It was understandable, we used the same style, seeing as he was my teacher. I had picked up a few things when I was in

Russia, killing strogoi with some other unpromised Dhampirs. When it looked like we were evenly matched, that's when I decided to pull a few of my tricks out. He blocked my first couple

moves, which was irritating. Finally, I caught him off guard and pinned him to the ground. We were both breathing heavy and sweaty from the drawn out spar, and I found myself staring into

those deep brown, beautiful eyes. It didn't matter that his love had faded, because mine never would, and I'm sure that my eyes were screaming that back into his. I couldn't move, he had

indescribable hold on me and I sat there staring into those eyes for as long as I dared. He didn't say anything-he didn't need to, he just stared right back. I'd like to think he was struggling

with the same situation as I was. But, before I could even think about that, our silent stare down ended when the gym door opened, forcing us to jump apart.

"I see you already found someone else to train with." Demyan said walking in. He seemed a little surprised to find me with Dimitri. I couldn't blame him, I was straddling him on the floor.

"What's wrong with training with more than one person?" I replied. "It's how I got to be as badass as I am today." That was a lie, it was because of Dimitri alone. I peaked over at him, he

looked slightly irritated-probably because Demyan was here. I mentally sighed. "Well, let's get this show on the road, I don't want to get grey waiting."

"Alright, let's start with sparring, to see how much the other knows." Demyan said laughing. "Are you going to join Belikov?"

Dimitri simply nodded, probably so he could hide his annoyance better. He went to take a seat to watch us-or me rather, he wasn't taking his eyes off of me-which made my stomach flip.

I took my stance facing Demyan as he took his, hoping he didn't kick my ass too bad-I'd like to keep my pride, but if he was Abe's guardian, he had to be good.

By the third time I had knocked him on his ass, I was starting to worry about my father's safety. Where the hell did he find such a horrible guardian? But, as I was about to make a rude

comment on how I should be training him, Dimitri spoke up.

"If you keep letting her win, she's going to be furious. And, Rose furious is a whole new level of anger." Dimitri warned him. He was right- sort of, I was already pissed. The last time someone

let me win, it was when I had been drug back to the Academy. I was so far behind the rest of my class, one of the other novices let me win, to be nice. He paid for it the rest of the year, by

getting his ass beat repeatedly.

"Letting me win?" I snapped at Demyan.

"Now, now. I never liked hitting girls." He replied with a sheepish smile, not upset he got caught. I had to squint to see Demyan through all the red in my vision. It also didn't help that I

hadn't had a healing for the darkness in awhile, not even a spirit-charmed ring.

"I'm a fully trained Guardian, who can handle fighting with strogoi. Where do _you_ get off thinking you're being polite by taking it _easy _on me?" I said spitting the words out. I was insulted,

even though I had a feeling this was his poor attempt at flirting with me.

"Okay, okay. I won't hold back on this one." He said still laughing. I wanted to beat that laugh right out of him.

"You won't want to this time, Nevsky." Dimitri said smugly, I hope that meant he wasn't going to interfere if I started beating his ass into the ground.

"Let's go." I said through my teeth while getting into my fighting stance. He was still smiling when he got into his. He sure did smile a lot, I wanted to make it where it hurt for him to smile-or

knock out a tooth, he wouldn't smile so much then.

When we finally got into the match, I realized how much he had been holding back, which infuriated me more. He knocked me down a few times, but I still ended up pinning him, after I gave

him a few bruises-one of those being a black eye. Usually during a sparring match, the face is off limits, but accidents do happen. I just happened to "accidentally" kick a little too high-my

kicks are stronger than my punches by far. He took it with good sportsmanship, oblivious to the fact that it was on purpose. Dimitri, of course, knew it wasn't, but thankfully didn't say

anything. I still thought Demyan wasn't giving his all in fighting with me.

"Damnit! What is your problem?" I almost screamed at him. He was so shocked at my outburst he didn't reply, just stared at me confused. I wasn't backing down though, maybe I'd piss him

off enough so he'll actually fight for real.

"What are you talking about?" He finally asked, and to Dimitri's amusement he looked a little scared.

"You're still letting me win! Why would you even agree to train with me, if you're just going to pussy foot around? I've got a job to do, and a Moroi to protect while doing it, I don't have time

to play games with you!" I continued. I was pissed, why was he wasting my time like this? Shits and giggles?

"Rose, I was fighting with everything I had during our last match. Honestly, I swear!" He replied quickly, while holding his hands in the air. Why did people do that to me? I guess I am rather

scary sometimes.

"He's telling the truth." Dimitri spoke up again. "And you need to calm down, or you'll loose your control." Hadn't I already? I sighed. No, I didn't have him begging for his life, so I guess I

hadn't completely lost it.

"Fine. I just assumed that you'd be beating _my_ ass, since you're Abe's Guardian and all. Not the other way around." I said with some attitude, putting my hands on my hips. Deyman laughed,

"Yeah, well apparently I should've gone to school in the U.S. They are training much better here apparently." He said while shaking his head, looking me up and down.

"Actually," I said amused, "I only had two full years of training in high school. A couple months of my second year was where I learned what I can show off today. And he" I said pointing to

Dimitri, "is where I learned all of it from." I finished smugly. Deyman's eyebrows shot up, and started looking from me to Dimitri, back and forth.

"Has the student surpassed the teacher?" Deyman asked. I instantly replied "no" and at the same time, Dimitri replied "yes". That made me smile.

"Oh come on comrade, you're so full of shit." I said amused.

Dimitri almost smiled, but just shook his head at me.

"Well Belikov, I bet you had your hands full." Deyman said grinning.

"You have no idea." Dimitri said flatly.

"Hey! You know those practices were the most entertaining part of your day!" I mused. They were for me. Dimitri just smiled back at me, which made my stomach leap.

"Oh, I think he fully agrees." Deyman said, watching us both. Dimitri stiffened when he noticed what he was implying. Damn, maybe that's what Deyman is good for, being overly observant.

Or maybe it was just plastered to both of our fasces. Either way, we slipped up.

"Of course he does" I said playing it off as a joke. "Well, boys, I know this is hard to believe, but I think I've had enough for one day." I said as I walked over to my jacket.

"Yeah, one black eye is enough for one day." Deyman said. I smiled at him,

"And there's enough time tomorrow for another one." I said sweetly. He laughed, and shook his head as he walked out the door. I turned to Dimitri, who was smiling at me. I was glad he

wasn't being distant, that side of him bothered me more than anything.

"What?" I asked innocently.

"I was about to jump out of my seat in praise when you gave him that black eye." Dimitri said with a laugh. The sound of it melts my heart.

"I was hoping you enjoyed that. Good god, he pissed me off. Thanks for not stopping me, I was worried you might jump in and stop me from pounding his face in." I said joining his laughter.

"Oh Roza, I was too busy holding myself back." He said shaking his head. The old nickname made my breath hike. When I looked at him, I could've sworn he gave me a look that just

screamed pure love. But, to my disappointment it was gone before I read too much into it.

"Well" he said awkwardly, "We better get going, we've got another long day tomorrow."

"Right, I guess I'll see you tomorrow then." I replied just as awkwardly. "Goodnight Dimitri." I said as I started to walk towards the door. Just as I made it out the door, I swore I heard him

whisper.

"Goodnight, my Roza."

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PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! **


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy.**

**Ok! I feel bad for not writing for over a week, but I've felt a little bit of writer's block. I'm hoping I can just push through it! Let me know what you think please! REVIEW! **

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**Chapter 8**

I took the long way back to my room. I wanted time to think, not that I hadn't had enough time in my jail cell, but I had a whole new round of things circulating in my head now. I still needed

to come up with a plan to find Lissa's sibling. Hopefully I can get what I need out of Sydney, which makes me wonder what time she will get here, or where she's going to have to stay. I

knew from past experiences she didn't sleep well around "evil creatures of the night", as she liked to call us.

When I finally reached my room I had a weird feeling wash over me. I didn't like being here after someone broke in and went through my things. Personal things or not, it was still unnerving.

Ignoring my distaste of my room, I jumped in the shower. I let the hot water loosen my muscles and relax me. I quickly changed and hoped in bed, not even bothering to dry my hair. I hadn't

realized how tired I was until I got out of the shower. I let the day's events replay in my head as I drifted off into a peaceful sleep, or so I thought.

I found myself sitting on a wooden bench. And even though it was dark outside, it wasn't hard to recognize my surroundings. I was in Russia, and it was unnaturally chilly for this time of year.

The chills that you felt in your bones. I instantly knew Adrian wouldn't bring me here, this was my own dream. I stood up looking around, trying to find anyone I knew. Loneliness and unease

washed over me, I wanted someone there to hold me, tell me everything was alright, and let me be vulnerable for a change. Almost as soon as I thought this, Dimitri appeared around the

corner, wearing his usual duster. But, as soon as he saw me, he turned and started to walk away. I tried to run after him, calling his name, but my feet wouldn't catch up, and my shouts

sounded like whispers that seemed to fade into the silence of the town. And just when I thought I was going to loose him, he stopped. I reached for his arm, to turn him around to look me in

the eyes, but he jerked his arm out of my hold. He halfway turned to me and said those soul crushing words to me.

"Love fades. Mine has." He said them without any expression, looking right into my eyes. I know he saw my heart shatter, because everything was showing on my face. I hid nothing in this

dream, and his words crushed me for the second time.

"Dimitri, please, you don't mean it. You were acting so differently today. I, I…" I choked on the words that I didn't have prepared. I wasn't prepared for this. How could I be? These kinds of

heart breaking situations shouldn't happen to one person more than once. But, that seemed to be the story of my life.

"No, Rose. You've just been over looking everything." He finished when I couldn't go on. I heard a heaving, gut retching, cough, and I didn't realize it was me until I tried to speak again. I

finally managed to make out a few words at a time.

"I… I don't know. H-how to be something y-you m-miss, D-Dimitri." I openly sobbed in front of him. Even the Dimitri that said he didn't love me would show some comforting gestures to a girl

loosing it in front of him. But, this was a Drimitri I was created in a dream, and I was too ignorant of that to know this wasn't reality.

"I don't miss you, and don't try, because it won't happen." He said, as he turned and started to walk away.

I hadn't noticed it had been raining until I sank to the ground. My face was wet with tears and rain water, my clothes soaked and clinging to me, and my hair was matted to my neck. I sat

there for what felt like hours, crying my heart out, screaming in the empty streets of this beautiful Russian town. I decided I wanted to leave, and find somewhere that would provide me with

a small amount of comfort. But, when I stood up I had to hold on to the bench. I felt like the world was closing in on me, my vision was going black. I almost didn't feel myself fall back onto

the bench, but then everything went black.

I woke myself up crying. I was confused at first as to why, but the dream came rushing back to me quickly. Was that how he really felt about me? Could I have been reading too much into

him being casual with me today? I held myself tightly, afraid that if I didn't hold on, I would fall apart. Why was my love life always so complicated? I rolled over trying to go back to sleep, but

I was too scared to reenter another nightmare.

After an hour of holding myself together, and shedding some silent tears, I got up. It was about 6p.m. which was early for me, but decided since I wasn't going to get anymore sleep; I might

as well get up and start my day.

Coffee was a must. After getting ready for the day, I went straight to a café. It was too early for most people I knew, so running into a friend didn't seem likely. But, as I walked in the café, I

suddenly wished I had a friend with me. I was gathering a lot of stares. Great way to start my day, ignorant Moroi, no dubitably starting rumors. I sighed, I wanted to give them all a haughty

look and forget about them, but I wasn't even up for that, not after that dream I had. It shook my core, and I hadn't been able to push it to the back of my mind yet. So, ignoring the stares

and whispers the best I could, I walked up to the counter,

"White Chocolate Mocha" I said to the waitress, "the biggest size you have." Then quickly adding "with an extra espresso shot" I was going to need it.

I sat down in a spot near the back, hoping to just blend in and not be noticed by anyone. It didn't work; the stares came unmercifully until I finally got up and switched seats to where I was

facing the window, with my back to everyone else. The sun was setting, and it had started raining since I got there. I couldn't help but be reminded of my dream when I saw the rain. Ugh,

forget about it Rose, I scolded myself. IT. WAS. JUST. A. DREAM. I sighed, trying to think of something else, when I heard someone pull out the chair across from me. I cringed as I smelt him

before he said anything,

"I'm surprised to see you up this early." Dimitri said as he sat down. He sounded amused. Was my dream last night just that? A dream? Maybe I let it bother me too much, he seemed fine

now. So why not go with it?

"Well, that's because you always had me running laps in the morning. Excuse me, if coffee sounds better at this time of day." I teased, finally facing him. He looked amazing, his hair was tied

neatly-for once-at his neck, he was shaved, and I his sent filled the air around us. All I could smell was him.

"Why are you really up this early?" He asked with a frown. Damn, he knew me too well. I decided to tell him part of the truth; hopefully he wouldn't dig for more.

"I couldn't sleep." I shrugged, as if it didn't matter.

"Why not?" He asked, "I figured you would be worn out from yesterday, it was quite a day, even for you." I sighed, so much for being broad.

"Bad dream." I said, trying to act like it wasn't still bothering me. He wasn't fooled.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He asked, tilting his head as if he was trying to figure it out by watching me.

"No. Not really." I said with a tone that implied for him to drop it. Dimitri sighed, and looked around the room, taking in all the stares I was getting from other people in the café.

"Are they bothering you?" He asked, "It bothered me at first, all the staring and whispering they do around here." I laughed, shaking my head. Then I looked up to him, with a sad smile.

"I'm used to it. It's no different than at St. Vladimir's." I replied. "Well, not quite, you would think these people would be mature enough to know that staring is rude." I finished with a

grimace. I turned around, returning my stares with a scowl. Most of them turned away quickly, avoiding my gaze. Probably afraid that the crazy Rose was going to attack someone. They

probably weren't that far off, I did feel a little crazy this morning.

"It can still bother you." Dimitri said, making me turn back to him. I wasn't sure why he was pressing this, but he truly seemed like he was concerned. I didn't want to talk about what was

bothering me though, I decided to switch to safer topics.

"So how did you get forced into helping me, with the whole sibling thing?" I asked, hoping his answer didn't involve my father threatening him. To my surprise he laughed. The laugh that I

loved, and it was followed by the smile that brightened my day.

"I wasn't forced Rose, I offered." He said with amusement.

"Ok, um." I was a little lost for words. Dimitri was pulling a 180 since the conversation I had with him before my arrest. "Why?" I asked finally. He looked thoughtful for a minute, like he was

trying to say the right thing.

"Rose" He sighed, "Not only do I owe you, because of obvious reasons that I refused to acknowledge before, and I'm sorry for that. But, despite what you think, I do care. And I want to

help." Dimitri said sincerely. I opened my mouth to say something, but I was speechless. I didn't see that coming. I bit my lip, and looked out the window. It had stopped raining. I looked

back at Dimitri.

"But, you.. You said, you didn't care." I finally got out. For the first time this morning he looked uncomfortable.

"I feel guilty for a lot of things that I've done to you." He said, giving me a look when I wanted to interrupt. "But, I didn't say I didn't _care_ about you." He finished. I wanted to roll my eyes.

Right, he said he didn't love me. He also said he didn't want me in my life, but I didn't want to bring that up, considering he apparently changed his mind about that.

"Alright, comrade. Be ready though, because this might get a little crazy. It is, after all a Rose Hathaway adventure." I said changing subject.

"Don't call me that." He said, trying to hide a smile. I think he secretly liked it. "And I knew what I was getting myself into, when I offered. Well, kind of." He said thoughtfully.

"Mind explaining?" I said, truly confused.

"Well" He started with a laugh. "None of us knew about the letter and the little mission you had planned after you got out. I actually thought we were going to have to bust you out of prison,

or do some spying to find the real killer. But Abe, your _father_.." Dimitri faltered slightly, like he just remembered that piece of information I let loose yesterday. "Wouldn't let us help, saying

that we would be needed after you got out of jail. At the time, I was so confused at why you would need help after your name was cleared. I had no idea what was going on." He said,

shaking his head.

"Ah, for once, Dimitri was not all knowing of the situation at hand." I said teasingly. He shot me a look that made me laugh more.

"So how long have you known Mr. Mazur was your father?" Dimitri said seriously. I remember him telling me to stay away from him when he held me captive in Russia. That had to be scary to

someone who didn't know Abe, a Strogoi, warning a Dhampir to stay away from a Moroi mobster. I laughed, shaking my head.

"After I got back from Russia. I figured it out after a conversation with my mother. I was a little shocked.. And disturbed." I added thoughtfully.

"Only a little?" Dimitri asked amused. At least he knew where I got my smart ass attitude, and awesome hair. I only laughed as a response, looking outside again.

The sun had completely set, starting the Moroi day. I figured I had been in here for over an hour, surprisingly. Which meant it was somewhere around 8:30p.m. And as if to add to my

thoughts, I felt a stir in the bond, Lissa was awake. _Come talk to me? _It was like she was right there talking to me.

"Well, comrade. Lissa's awake and wanting me to go talk. I'll see you later?" I asked. "For training?" I didn't want to leave, our conversation had been comfortable for the most part, and I

missed this side of him.

"Of course. I'll see you later, Roza." He replied. My breath caught with the use of the nickname. I decided to just nod a reply, it wasn't as hard to mess those up when my stomach was doing

flips. I turned on my heel and walked out of the café, splashing through puddles the whole way to Lissa's.


	9. Chapter 9

**So, here's the 9th**** chapter. I have to be honest, I'm not feeling this as much anymore, I feel like no one likes my story ****L**** Not many comments/reviews, so I take it the wrong way.**

**Please read and review/comment. It doesn't even have to be a good review, just let me know what you think! Even if you hate it, LET ME KNOW! I don't want to waste my time writing something and no one care. (And if you don't like it, maybe I can improve things, so that you do!)**

**But, on a lighter topic, who can't wait for Last Sacrifice? Personally, I'm counting down the days, it can't get here fast enough!**

***** (Almost forgot!) Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy.*** Sorry If you already read this and thought I updated again already! **

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Chapter 9

As I trudged my way through the puddles to Lissa's room, I couldn't help but think about the civil conversation Dimitri and I shared this morning. I wonder if it had to do with jealously towards Demyan? Dimitri didn't seem like the jealous type to me, but then again, he's never had any competition until now-excluding Adrian, but that's a different situation. I shook my head at my mental rambling, Dimitri doesn't even feel that way towards me anymore… right? Last night's dream came rushing back into my thoughts. My mood suddenly plummeted. Of course he doesn't. He is trying to be mature. I shook my head again, not trying, he is mature. He's seven years older than you, he doesn't have to try, I told myself. I decided to push this into the back of my mind, and think about it later. I didn't want to ruin the rest of my first day of freedom.

I rounded the corner to Lissa's room, tracking water all over their luxurious, ruby carpet. I raised my hand ready to knock on her door, when it suddenly burst open with Lissa flying through. Before I knew it, I was embraced with a massive hug.

"Rose! I'm so happy to see you." Lissa said enthusiastically. I could feel relief and excitement coming through the bond. She was more happy than I was that I had been freed. I laughed and pulled slightly away to look at her,

"Liss, I'm happy to see you to, but can we take this inside?" I asked. She just smiled warmly and pulled me into her room. Not wanting to ruin her carpet, I took my socks and shoes off at the door, then rolled my pant legs up. Good enough, I thought as I went to go sit on the mini couch she had in her room. Moroi guest housing at court looked a lot like an apartment. Of course, Royal Moroi got the nicer ones, and since Lissa was the "last Dragomir," she got a very luxurious one, even for a Royal. It came completely furnished, even with furniture and electronics, which personally, I think takes away with the fun of moving out and living on your own. Who wants to move in somewhere and not pick out the things that are in it? Well, other than men.

"So." Lissa said sitting down beside me. She looked at me seriously, waiting for me to start talking. I smiled at her, knowing what she wanted to talk about.

"I haven't known very long Liss. I found out after my hearing, I'm sorry I didn't tell you before. I didn't really have any way to tell you before then, you know." I told her. Duh, when did she think I could tell her? I was in jail.

"I know." She replied quietly. "I'm okay with it really. I'm glad to have another family member out there. I just wish my father's reputation didn't have to change for this to work out properly." She finished with a sad smile. I gave her a small hug,

"I don't want to be mean, but the people that knew your dad already knew his reputation. For this kind of thing." I cringed as she pulled away quickly, glaring at me.

"I am aware of that Rose." She said stiffly, then sighed softening a little. "I just don't want the people who didn't know him, to get the wrong idea."

"It doesn't matter what they think." I said before she could continue. "Screw them. If they didn't know him, then they have no right to judge him. It doesn't matter anyway, they will forget about it as soon as something else that gets caught in their every flowing stream of gossip." I said it with such reassurance that Lissa smiled at me, grabbing my hand.

"You always make me feel better." She said warmly. "Now, I want to know what's up with you. I made the mistake last time by not thinking about your feelings, and I missed a lot." I sighed, I knew exactly what she was wanting to talk about. Dimitri.

"I broke up with Adrian." I said, looking away. I didn't want to talk about this, but I figured it would be easier than talking about Dimitri. Lissa raised her eyebrow's, clearly not expecting this. I guess they haven't talked in awhile. Lissa waited patiently for me to continue. I sighed again. How was I suppose to talk about something like this, when I didn't even know what was going on? Seeing that I wasn't going to continue she asked,

"When? You haven't even been out of jail for a full day!" She asked, her eyebrow's still raised. Finally, I looked back to her,

"We dream walked a lot while I was in jail. I just felt like I was dragging him along, Liss. He didn't deserve that." I said sadly. "But, he took it rather well, I figured he would be upset. Or go crazy." I said still confused about his reaction. This time Lissa laughed.

"Rose, he's been prepared for this for a long time." Lissa said with a knowing look. I glared at her,

"How come you knew that, and I didn't? It took me awhile to get the nerves to even talk about it with him." I said with a pout.

"I can see his aura, and yours." She said shrugging. "And he can see your's." I sighed.

"You spirit user's are annoying, I can't even lie properly without you knowing." I said teasing. Lissa slapped my arm,

"Oh, and you being able to feel what I feel and go in my head isn't annoying?" She retorted.

"No, it's resourceful. Unless you and Christian are getting hot and heavy." I said, jumping off the couch to dodge her slap. She gaped at me,

"Rose!" I just laughed, hoping the topics would stay away from relationships now that she had been embarrassed by hers. No such luck. Lissa's expression changed to appalled to a smirk. "So, was Dimitri the reason you broke up with Adrian?" Damn auras. I sighed, looking away.

"I don't know… I don't know how I feel about Dimitri. I don't know how he feels about me." I finished looking back at her.

"Rose, I know I told you to stay away from him, but after you got arrested, he changed. It was like something in him woke up. He isn't totally back to the old Dimitri, but it's a start." She smiled at me. I noticed the change, but I didn't believe it was because of me. I shook my head.

"I don't think it matters Liss. He doesn't care for me anymore. He told me." I said in a small voice. She grabbed my hand and gave it a small squeeze.

"It'll all work out. I promise." She said reassuringly. I knew what she was doing, trying to comfort me like I did for her. I smiled at her, she didn't really make me feel better about Dimitri, but she made me happy to have her as a friend.

"Come on, let's get out of here. I know you don't want to be confined to a room for your first day of freedom. Let's go have some fun." She said pulling me off the couch. Hell no I didn't.

"What do you have in mind? It can't be an all day thing, we have training later." I reminded her. Lissa rolled her eyes.

"I never thought you would ever be the voice of reason or responsibility for me." She teased. She grabbed my hands examining them. "How about a manicure and pedicure again? You like those." She said with a smile. I looked down at my weathered hands. They needed care, badly. Why not, even if the polish didn't make it past the training?

"Ok, I'll bite." I said grinning at her. Lissa jumped up and down excitedly.

"I knew you would like that, so I already had them scheduled. We've got to go now though, or we will be late." She said rushing me while I grabbed my socks and shoes. "Plus, I have a surprise for you." I rolled my eyes.

"It better not be Ambrose again." I said shaking my head. Lissa laughed, pulling me down the hall.

"No, no." She looked over her shoulder at me, "I promise you'll love it."


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: **_**I do not own Vampire Academy**_**. **

**I'm sorry for the **_**long**_** wait, I had to study for some finals. (College sucks.) Anyway, here's the 10****th**** chapter. Hope y'all like it. Oh yes, and I've already started on the 11****th**** chapter, so if I get some comments it'll make me post faster! ;)**

**Lorin-Nicole**

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I was walking back to my room examining my newly polished hands and nails. I was lucky to have a friend like Lissa, one that I could talk to and do girlie things together. But, even though

going to a spa should be relaxing- a place to forget about all your worries, I just couldn't. Not when I had something so important to do. I sighed looking at my nails,

"These aren't even going to make it through tonight." I mumbled to myself.

"You're right. You should sit out of practice today to save them." a voice bombed, making me jump out of my skin. I felt foolish for not being aware of my surroundings- what a great

guardian

I am. 'Who am I kidding?' I thought. I'm awesome.

I looked up to see Demyan staring down at my hands.

"No such luck." I said laughing. Was he kidding? "I'm not skipping out of a chance of beating your ass again. Especially in front of everyone." I finished with an evil smile.

"Oh? Well, maybe I was still holding out on you last night." He said with a smirk.

My mood did a 180.

"You better be joking." I said with my best glare. I was going to threaten him with his life, but I figured that since I was just accused for murder, making death threats would be pretty

stupid.

He started laughing, worsening my mood.

"I guess you'll just have to find out, won't you?" He said with a sloppy grin. I knew that look. Flirty. Ugh, I did not need this. And who flirts like that? He was pissing me off to no end, but I

decided to not let him get the best of me. I put on a neutral face.

"No, because we're suppose to be learning with Moroi today. You should pay more attention to the schedule, Guardian Nevsky." I said flatly.

"My apologies, Guardian Hathaway." He retorted, still smirking at me. I brushed past him, heading towards the gym's doors. I felt him following me, his body heat reaching my right arm.

Too close. He either didn't get the hint, or just like pushing my buttons. I stopped when I reached the doors. I kept telling myself not to let him know how much he was getting under my

skin, but I couldn't take it anymore. I glared at him with such an intensity that he jumped a foot away.

"Do not," I said stepping closer to him, "mess with me." I was so annoyed that I missed the pleasure in seeing his smirk disappear.

I didn't wait for a reply as I turned and pushed through the doors. I wanted to know where my father found such an unnerving person for a guardian. I bet he didn't push Abe's limits,

seeing as his knee caps were still intact. I then had a mental image running through my mind of breaking his knee caps myself. I hope this kind of thing didn't run in the family.

I walked into the gym with anger plastered on my face, like the glare had frozen there. I walked over to a bleacher, sat down, and crossed my arms over my chest-feeling slightly like a

pouting child.

"Your aura looks like a tornado, little dhampir."

I bit my tongue, almost telling Adrian to fuck off. I knew some of this was darkness from Lissa-but mostly my dislike of Demyan, so I tried a more friendly retort.

"I would've guessed hurricane or typhoon, actually." I said finally looking over at him. And with one look at Adrian, I was practically on the floor laughing. Tears were threatening to roll

down my aching cheeks from laughter. Adrian, usually dressing to perfection, was wearing what I would usually see dhampir novices wearing back at the academy. He had tennis shoes,

basketball shorts, and a plain Nike T-shirt on-which is in no way humorous. But. On Adrian it looked ridiculous, and to add on to his hysterical look, he had a thick white head band on. He watched me

laughing with an amused look in his emerald eyes. "Although I'm happy to literally brighten your mood, and aura, I'm not so sure I'm happy that it's at my expense." He said flatly. "Now what

is it that you find so amusing little dhampir?" He asked with his lips twitching, trying to fight a smile. I gave him another look over, starting another round of laughter. He sighed looking down

at his clothes. "Not very fitting of me is it?" He asked knowing quite well what I found hilarious. Unable to speak, I nodded to him, whipping away a few of the tears that did manage to

escape.

To my amusement Christian and Lissa showed dressed similarly, although it wasn't as funny. The two years that me and Lissa had run away, it wasn't uncommon to see her dressed like that.

And Christian never dresses like a royal anyway. Adrian was truly out of his boundaries. Abe and his guardian Jemal were the last two to show. Apparently Jemal was the better guardian. I

bet Demyan didn't even know where Abe was.

After everyone had showed up standing in scattered clumps around where I sat on the bleachers, Abe cleared his throat and turned to me.

"Well, seeing as I know little about training, I think this is where you take the reins."

"Right." I said standing up. I felt a little insecure about leading guardians that were much more experienced than me in a training course. Especially Dimitri, seeing as he was my instructor at

one time. _Not anymore, Rose._ "Okay, well we should start with stretches." I finally said. "Wouldn't want to pull a royal's muscle." I said with a grin.

"If I pull a muscle that only means you'll have to help work it out." Adrian retorted, which got him an elbow from Lissa.

"Let's pair up, guardian to Moroi. The guardians can show the Moroi what stretches to start out with." No one moved. What was this? I felt like I was back in human high school, where no

one wanted to pick who was on their team for P.E. I sighed. Hoping that I would queue in the others to pick a partner, I turned to look at the Moroi, deciding when training came around I

could easily use my bond to help teach better. "Okay, Lissa you're with me." I heard Adrian silently curse. Thankfully my mother got the hint and walked over to Tasha. I smiled and then

looked over to Dimitri, Eddie and Demyan. Eddie was making his way over to Christian, probably glad he had a choice between him and Adrian. Dimitri looked over at me questionably. I could

tell he wanted to change something. "You don't have to raise you hand comrade, what's wrong?" I said earning a grimace from my mother for my nickname usage.

"I don't think you should train with Lissa. Your bond with affect you. Your natural response to protect her will throw you off, and she will be the same way." He said it calmly. My fists balled up

in anger. But before I could voice my opinion Lissa lightly touched my arm.

"He's right Rose." I looked at her. She wasn't pleading me to pick another partner to calm me down. She really agreed with him. I sighed. Adrian was the only one left. I looked back at Dimitri.

"This better not be because you didn't want to train Adrian." Apparently my comment didn't deserve a response. I walked over to Adrian and he smiled at me, putting an arm around my

shoulders.

"We're going to have so much fun, Little Dhampir." I rolled my eyes.

"You can say that again." Demyan said walking up to us.

"No." I practically growled at him.

"No choice. We're out of Moroi." He said with another sloppy grin. "Plus, I figured you'd need the help with this one." He added, getting a glare from Adrian.

"What about Zemy?" I asked. He really never thought about his charge, even though he was privately hired. I thought I had him there, but apparently luck wasn't on my side.

"I'm not participating in your games, little girl." Abe said walking over, shadowed by Jemal. I finally noticed that he was dressed in his normal pirate attire.

"Where's the fun in that _old man_?" I teased.

"I figured my funding your mission made up for my lack of physical involvement."

"Fair enough." I said and turned to Adrian. "Well, lets get started."

We started with our stretches. I stood in front of Adrian so he could watch how to do them properly. I was proud of Adrian's lack of sexual harassment, but like I noticed earlier, luck was not

on my side. Where Adrian lacked in inappropriate comments, Demyan made up for them.

"You know Rose, I think your form is great. But, I think if you leaned more this way," Deyman started to demonstrate "it would help more." He finished with a smirk. I had been ignoring him

for the past fifteen minutes, which he had filled with comments like these. But, when he didn't get a response at all, he got a little braver.

I watched from the corner of my vision Demyan walk over to me.

"Here let me help." He said with humor in his voice. It only took me a second after he put one hand on my hip for me to snap. With unrealistic speed I turn and kicked him in the gut, making

him slam up against a wall. I was there before he even realized what had happened. I punched him in the face with more force than I thought I possessed. With my other hand I grabbed his

shirt, forcing him to stay against the wall. Blood from his nose-which I only knew where it came from because his nose was clearly broken- was dripping off his face onto my arm. If I wasn't so

angry I would have been impressed with myself. That's when I finally realized how angry I was. I could barely hear the protests of my friends across the gym.

All I could see was red.

"Don't fuck with me _Guardian _Nevsky." I spat.

Adrian was suddenly in my line of vision. Without thinking I lashed out at him. But my fist never made it to him, because Dimitri was suddenly there holding back my arm.

But I was still seeing red.

"Rose. Stop." Dimitri said in a calm voice, understanding the situation. But I wasn't ready to give in so easily, Demyan had pushed me too far. I remember feeling this type of anger before,

back when I almost killed Jesse at St. Vladimir's. Only this time, it was stronger.

"Go to hell Belikov." I said thrashing violently, trying to loosen his hold. Adrian was there again, staring right into my eyes. Suddenly I couldn't look anywhere else, those emerald eyes locked

into mine. This didn't slow my violent attempt to loose the steel grip of Dimitri.

"Rose, stop fighting." Adrian said, his voice was silky smooth. I couldn't help it, I went limp in Dimitri's arms instantly. But suddenly pain shot through my skull. A pain so surreal, I couldn't do

anything but scream. And that's what I did. I didn't have to feel it for very long, because the red was fading from my vision. Black was taking over. I vaguely remember being lifted from where

I had apparently collapsed in pain. The strong and distinct smell of Dimitri's after shave and his sweet accented voice laced with worry saying 'Roza' was the last thing I remember before the

black completely took over.

**REVIEW PLEEEEEASE!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: **_**I do not own Vampire Academy. **_

**Okay, so here's Chapter 11. I think I know where I'm going with this story now. So hopefully it'll flow pretty nicely (knock on wood). Hope y'all like it, please review/comment!**

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I woke up to hushed voices. Everything that happened in the gym flooded my memory. What the hell just happened? I kept my eyes closed hoping no one would notice I was awake. No such luck.

"Rose?" a voice asked from my left. "I know you're awake." I sighed.

"Stupid aruas." I groaned and turned to face Adrian. He looked worried, and tired. I felt guilty knowing this wasn't from our training, but because he probably had to use a lot of spirit. I hope he didn't heal Demyan. Even though I knew I had went too far, I still thought he could keep the broken nose. But I was scared, though I wasn't going to admit it. Scared because I had no control over myself, I let anyone be my target. If Dimitri hadn't been there, Adrian would've turned out like Demyan, or worse. Sensing my distraught, Adrian smiled.

"Don't worry little Dhampir, you'll be fine." Adrian could be convincing, but I knew it was spirit. He was charismatic just like Lissa.

"I'm not so sure about that." I said and laid on my back facing the ceiling. I wasn't going to be able to keep the shadows away forever. It's only been a little over three years since the bond was formed and I'm already trying to kill my friends. "I'm loosing my grip on reality." I choked out. Adrian didn't say anything. I had a good feeling he was trying to read my aura. I'm sure he had never seen me this emotionally challenged.

I thankfully realized there were more people in the room before I could completely break down. Lissa grabbed my hand and sat on the edge of the bed. She looked just as tired as Adrian.

"You shouldn't use all that spirit you know." I said softly. I wasn't sure if I was telling her that because it would keep her sane, or keep me sane. Either way, it was true.

"You shouldn't take so much darkness from me." She retorted, a little irritated. I almost smiled. She was angry at me for taking care of her. "And why aren't you wearing what I made you earlier?" She chastised.

"I don't wear jewelry to training." I said simply. It was one of those things that were taught to us at a young age. You don't wear jewelry in a fight. Even humans know that, you always see girls taking their earrings out before a fight. Street smarts for humans, courtesy for Dhampirs. Lissa sighed.

"Well, I think you should consider a small form of it from now on." She reached into her bag she had next to my bed and pulled out a necklace. Something that she had given me earlier, one of my surprises she had promised me. She handed it to me. It was a silver chain, with a silver dragon-Dragomir dragon to be exact-and its body was wrapped around a ruby stone. "You already know it's charmed as a healing charm. But it's got something extra in it too. If Adrian and I are correct, then it should not only heal some darkness away, but store it." She said quietly. My mind was reeling.

"Is that even possible?" I asked. Lissa shrugged. I felt more eyes on me and looked around the room. My parents and Dimitri were standing along the wall-guardian style. Christian was standing a little ways from Lissa. Watching me with careful eyes, ready to jump in and save her from me if I lost it again. I couldn't bring myself to give him a witty remark, seeing as I wasn't sure that I wouldn't loose it any minute.

The scene from the gym kept running through my mind. All the red in my vision, fueled by a sickening hatred. And then there was the blackness that overpowered the red, the blackness that came with the horrible pain. What was that from? The last thing I remember before the pain started was Adrian. His compulsion that stopped me from fighting. Could he have made me think I was feeling pain? Lissa had that ability. It was a dark power. It was what brought on the last uncontrollable darkness. I turned and looked at Adrian. He didn't have a bond mate to take away his darkness- to keep him sane. He didn't look crazy, and I'm almost positive that kind of compulsion could drive you mad.

"Adrian?" I whispered, trying to keep the conversation private. "Did you?… Did you use compulsion to make me feel pain? After you told me to stop fighting Dimitri?" Adrian raised his eyebrows.

"No. I don't think I could do that. My compulsion isn't that strong. That would be Lissa's specialty." He said seriously. I looked back to Lissa.

"Did you do it then?" I didn't think she would. She wasn't even near us, Dimitri was much faster and managed to get there way before she did.

"No Rose." She said shaking her head. "We all heard you screaming, but we just thought you broke away from Adrian's compulsion and was trying to get away from Dimitri again." She looked confused. Join the club, I thought. "Well, everyone except Dimitri. He swore there was something wrong." She said looking back at Dimitri.

He didn't say anything. He was simply staring at me, waiting for me to explain what happened.

"The pain was unreal, much worse than that… that one time I was on the plane with the ghosts." I said looking at my hands. I didn't like feeling weak-or admitting it.

"What do you think it was? A side effect from the darkness?" Dimitri finally spoke up.

"I'm not sure." Lissa said looking at me questionably. "Her aura was crazy. It very well could have been." I sighed. This wasn't something that I needed right now. I didn't want to talk about it anymore. Worry about one thing at a time, I thought. Right now, I needed to get on with the mission.

"Yeah, well, that's my problem to deal with later." I said. Lissa opened her mouth to protest, but I cut her off. " Abe, we need to get more information. I know Sydney is coming, but we're going to have to go and search for some too. She won't have all the answers." I said ignoring the scowls I was getting from Lissa and Dimitri.

"And where do you plan to start?" He asked.

"Vegas." I said looking over at Adrian. "We learned a few things when we were there last time. I think if we went back, we could find some more information." The only problem with my plan is that no one is going to answer strange questions from a dhampir. "We are going to need to go undercover." I said thoughtfully, then added "Well, the dampir's are. Adrian could go as my escort. He easily got information last time just chatting at the bar with a stranger."

"Rosemarie. Please don't tell me you're going to go undercover as a blood whore." My mother finally spoke out among the group. I looked up at her, really looking at her. And smiled. Then I looked at Abe, and really smiled. Perfect, I thought. I lift my chin and looked at her with my guardian face on, hoping it would help.

"Yes." I said, watching her face. She wasn't happy. At all. Better to get it over with now, I thought. "And so are you." I finished with a smile.

There are only a few things that caused Janine Hathaway to falter, and apparently, this was one of them. Leave it to her daughter to leave her speechless.

"You have to be kidding me." She asked with a stranded expression on her face. Abe wore a bright smile.

"No, I'm for once, completely serious." I said with my guardian face. Inside I was about to loose it. Her shock was completely hilarious. "Abe will be your escort." I said trying to hide my amusement. "Think about it, with him and Adrian, we can find out what we need to, and they will be completely safe. If anyone tries anything, they have the badass Hathaway's by their side" I said with a sly grin. Plus, I wasn't missing out on any of the investigation.

"I'm in." Adrian said with a half smirk. "As long as I get to pick your outfit Rose." I groaned. I swear I saw Dimitri's head snap in our direction.

"Adrian, I swear to god, If I look ridiculous I'll hurt you." I growled. Before I could continue with any more threats Christian finally found his voice.

"Oh, come on Rose. Who are you talking to? Plus, aren't you SUPPOSE to be undercover? You're wanting to look like a blood whore. We all know he can make you look like one." I was about to snap back at him, but something he said made my mind reel. What if someone recognized me?

"We need to change more than our clothes." I said thoughtfully. "We'll need to change at least our hair, and cover our guardian tattoo's." I finished looking up at my mother, who was nodding, apparently ok with the plan now. "That should give us enough disguise, unless you think someone will recognize you." I said to her, wondering how well known she was in the Moroi and Guardian world. She starting shaking her head.

"No one should pay that much attention to blood whores." She said with a small voice. I saw Dimitri wince in the corner of my eye. I wanted to apologize, remembering his mother. She wasn't the kind of person we were going to portray, but she had been called that before. I sighed.

I sat up, wanting get up and get something taken care of. Lissa put her hand on my shoulder, worry ran through the bond.

"I'm fine, Liss" I told her, and stood up. "I need to get things started." We didn't need the Moroi for this mission. So we didn't have to wait for their training to be finished for us to do this. I was hoping we could do this as soon as possible.

"I'll get started on your 'disguise'." Adrian said as he made his way over to me, putting his arm around me. I pulled my eyebrows together, picking his hand up with mine and removing it from my shoulder. "Just don't make it too flashy Ivashkov." I said dangerously. I meant it too. I didn't want too much attention. He just chuckled and walked over to Abe.

"Would you like to join me? Guardian Hathaway will need a 'disguise' as well."

"Of course." Abe said to my surprise. My mother shot him a dangerous look in warning. I sighed. Why were my two resourceful Moroi such trouble makers? I hope if I were a guy, I would not be like that.

Shaking my head in disbelief, I watched as they walked out of the room together, chatting about who they were to get to design the outfits. My mother turned back into Abe's shadow. She threw me a nervous look after hearing the last part of their conversation as they made their way out of hearing range. Why do they have to get them custom made?

Lissa came and gave me a hug and a quick goodbye. She was worn out, so I wasn't going to ask her to stay and talk, even though I didn't want to be alone. Christian gave me his trademark smirk as they left the room. I sighed and sat back on the bed, swallowing hard. Replaying what happened in the gym over in my head again. I was even starting to scare myself. I let out a shaky breath. I put my head in my hands, and sighed. I wasn't sure how to handle this, but I was for sure I didn't want Lissa to watch me go through it.

Then I felt a warmth around my wrists.

Again, I questioned my guardian abilities. I had completely forgotten about Dimitri being in the room.

"Roza." He whispered. I felt his warm breath close to my ear. I didn't move for fear it would force him to move away. My pulse went double time just from our proximity and the use of my old nickname made my stomach turn. I felt tears threaten to seep through my eyelids. I closed them as much as I could and crushed my hands harder against my face hoping it would help.

I felt one of his hands leave my wrist and brush my hair back. I instinctively leaned against his hand. He left his hand there, cupping my face. With his other hand he pulled my hands away from my face and gently wiped away the tears that managed to escape.

I was sitting on the edge of the bed. His face was level with mine, leaving him kneeling on the floor. I looked at the floor, ashamed that he saw my weakness.

"I'm sorry." I finally said. Looking back into his gaze, that never seemed to leave my face. "I can't believe I"

"Stop." Dimitri said with so much authority I instantly shut up. "That wasn't you. I know you, Roza." He said shaking his head. I was going to go crazy. He needed to stop calling me that. Or he needed to explain a few things. This wasn't fair.

"You stop." I said keeping my eyes locked with his. I watched as those wonderful brown eyes filled with shock. "I'm already going crazy on my own. I don't need this. I don't need you driving me crazy too." I watched the shock in his eyes turn into confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"This!" I said, gesturing between the two of us. Isn't it obvious? I thought. "You, touching me like this. You, calling me that." I didn't dare even say the nickname myself.

He sighed, but didn't take his hand away.

"I don't think is the right time to do this… but I wanted to talk to you." He paused, making sure it was ok to continue. I nodded, assuring him it was ok. What else did he think I would do?

"I can understand if your guard is up, but this is me swallowing my pride, saying I'm sorry about that day in the church." He sighed and took my hand in his. I couldn't believe the words coming out of his mouth. I was about to interupt, but he cut me off before I could. "I go back to that day all the time, wishing I could take it back. Wishing I could take back those words I said to you. Those lies I told you. I haven't been able to sleep Rose, I've been replaying those beautiful times." He smiled warmly. "That time I realized I loved you." He squeezed my hand tighter and I felt it all the way to my heart. Tears were flowing freely now. Something that rarely happened.

"Do you still love me Dimitri?" I asked as my voice cracked. His eyes seemed to look into my soul as he grabbed my face with both hands, whipping away my tears with his thumbs.

"More than you'll ever know." He managed to whisper.

That was all it took.

I grabbed his face with my hands and pulled his lips to mine. Passion is a small word to describe what we shared.

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**Ok, So I had a few drinks before I wrote this ;) so I'm sooooo sorry if this is terrible. But let me knoooooow! **


	12. Chapter 12

**I feel like I start most updates with an apology. But, like always, life has an interesting way to always prevent me from updating later than I plan. If you really want to my excuse this time, I spent several nights on the phone with AT&T for problems with internet connections. They're all unnerving, by the way. But, almost two weeks later, here I am able to post a new chapter. So enjoy! **

**P.S. I recently read a fan fiction story that the author mentioned songs having an inspirational way of helping express scenes and use some lyrics from those songs in their story. I too, use some lyrics from songs that help me get over writer's block or just have lyrics that are fitting. Usually Taylor Swift songs, along with other various songs. I usually find country songs have the best lyrics to inspire my writing. (Although, country is not my favorite genre.) I want to know what the reader's of my story think of this, and if you find a song inspirational, share them with me. I would love to hear what songs you think my chapter's fit into. I love music. It can make or break a scene. Let me know what you think. **

**As usual… **_**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy.**_

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**Chapter 12**

I reluctantly pulled away from the kiss. Our labored breathing the only sound in the room. I leaned against him for support. I wasn't sure if it was the kiss or the fact that I had passed out recently, but I was dizzy.

I wasn't sure on what to say to him. My surprise was undoubtedly made clear by my lack of words- which is uncharacteristic of me. There was a swelling feeling in my chest. It was strange that one person, one kiss, could create such a pure feeling of content. Something I had been deprived of for a while now. This was a moment I had dreamed about, ever since he told me he had given up on me. A moment that seemed so unreal that I was afraid it would slip through my fingers if I didn't hold on tight enough. I wanted to be assured that this was reality. I stared into what I believed was the most beautiful set of brown eyes in the world.

"Why?" I asked. "Why now? After what you said to me in the church?" Unable to speak above a whisper I wasn't even sure he heard me. Dimitri smiled softly. Those lips were beautiful, beautiful and haunting. The same lips that had haunted me since he came back.

"You're hard to resist." He whispered back. "The way you look and the way you move." He took in a ragged breath and sighed. "The way you love with everything you have." He looked back and held my gaze. "Every little thing you do drives me crazy."

"I think you're stealing my lines, comrade." I said with a bright smile, which he returned. A smile that reached his eyes. I remembered back to the days that I had lived for those smiles.

"Like I said, I understand if your guard is up. I broke a strong trust and understanding we had." He said seriously. I wanted to tell him it didn't matter, that I loved him with all my heart and that there was nothing that could break my trust in him. But, he had said those words to me. He had once given up on me. Although he had good reasons for emotionally not being ready to pick up where we left off, I was still hurt from it. Something that neither one of us could control. I considered this, but I also considered how my life would be like if I decided to let completely go of him. I didn't like the idea of that, it scared the hell out of me. It was a lonely place I didn't want to be.

"You hurt me, yes." I managed to say. The tears that had started were still coming. I was unaware that one person could cry this much. "But, I don't think I could live my life without you. Why do you think I went across the world for you?" I asked as he whipped my tears away with his thumb.

"I never meant for you to think I was ungrateful for that. I owe you my life, Roza." I shivered from the nickname now. Not because it pained me to hear it, but from desire. His accent was another thing about Dimitri that I adored. It strangely made me feel at home- even though I had only been to Russia once. With a lack of a better response I kissed him again, sending the same fever of passion through us once more. I wrapped my arms around his neck to bring him closer. And as if he felt the same way, he wrapped one arm around my waist while pushing back onto the bed. Dimitri broke the kiss but stayed hovering over me. He touched his forehead to mine and put a hand in my hair. I couldn't hold back from touching his face.

"I love you, Dimitri." I said, my lips barely touching his.

"As I love you." He said firmly, as to make me believe it more.

We stayed like that for awhile. Content with just touching each other's faces. Running our fingers through each other's hair.

Until the door opened.

I have only been walked in on an intimate moment once before. If you can call what I was doing with Jesse intimate… I would rather not.

But, since no one other than Lissa and Adrian really knew about Dimitri and I, and the fact that when we were together, he was my mentor, it makes a situation like this a little uncomfortable- to say the least. Especially when the person that walks in is my mother.

Dimitri and I sprang apart. But apparently not quick enough. And again, even though I was impressed with myself for doing it once, I had left my mother speechless. Twice in one day. All I could think of was how I was going to get another lector, or the birds and the bees talk. Oh joy.

We all stood there for a moment, unsure of what to say. My mother coming to visit was not what I would have expected, to say the least. She had to have a good reason to come back unannounced so soon. I cleared my throat, hoping to remove some tension that was building in the room.

"Mom." I said in a greeting sort of fashion. I was hoping my face showed no sign of embarrassment, but the heat in my checks reasoned otherwise. I chanced a quick look to Dimitri, and he gave an apologetic look my way. Totally busted.

"I came back to discuss some things about the mission with you." My mother said. For once I was happy to see she had her guardian mask up. I was not ready for a motherly input on my relationships or sexual behavior.

"Oh." I managed. "Okay, what did you want to discuss." I tried my best at hiding my embarrassment, which she knew. I could see her hiding a smile.

"I wanted to discuss bringing more guardians." I frowned, unable to see her reasoning.

"Wouldn't that give our cover away?" I asked. I tried to be reasonably polite. This was my mission, I didn't want her to try and take charge. But, I've learned that if you want help, you can't always be a smart ass.

"I agree." Dimitri said before my mother could argue her point. I turned and frowned at him.

"Rose." My mother said wanting my attention. I turned back, trying to hide my scowl that I was sure would come if they started to team up against me. "We are not going to be guarding them when we are undercover. You forget we will be acting. It wouldn't be uncommon for people like your father and Adrian to go out with guardians." She said wisely.

Of course. Why hadn't I thought of that already? Oh yeah, because I was too busy worrying about the other problems in my life. I needed a stress reliever. "I take it you will be going Guardian Belikov?" My mother asked while I was having a mental rambling.

"Please, call me Dimitri. And yes, if Rose wants me in this part of the plan, I will go." They both turned towards me.

"Of course you can go." I said almost too quickly. My mother tried to hide another smile. Before I could embarrass myself further, I changed the subject.

"So, I take it since you're here, they have finished deciding our outfits for this mission?"

"Yes." My mother said grimly. Oh lord, I hoped Abe didn't pick anything I didn't want to see my mother in. "I hope your balance is good. Adrian seems to like very high heels." I grimaced.

"Me too." I had a sudden flash back of when I broke my ankle. "I'll just stay away from wooden benches."

My mother didn't exaggerate. The heels were the highest I've ever worn. Probably the most expensive too.

"Adrian." I grumbled. "These are freakishly tall. How am I suppose to fight in them?" I asked.

"You're not suppose to fight, little dhampir." he smirked back. Adrian had taken the privilege of delivering the whole get up to me himself. He was a little too excited to be involved in this part of the plan, I thought. It was just yesterday that I had announced my plan to go to Vegas to search for information. Lucky for us, we were at court, and having a Royal put in a special order for dresses, got them made quicker than usual. It was now a Friday, which again worked out for us. We were to fly to Vegas today, planning to go out and search tomorrow night. A Saturday in Vegas sounded promising. The only problem was I needed to talk to Sydney before we left. I knew she would be in today, so I had it arranged so that I would have some time to talk to Sydney before we left on our flight.

I pushed Adrian out of my room, shutting the door behind us.

"Are you sure you don't want to try on the dress and show me before we leave?" Adrian asked with a sly smile while grabbing for a cigarette. I eyed his hand as he put it to his mouth and lit it. "In case it doesn't fit, you know." He teased.

"In your dreams Ivashkov. I know you too well." I said flatly, imagining myself slapping the cigarette out of his hand.

"I don't know what you're talking about, little dhampir." Adrian said with an evil smile.

"Right." I said without looking at him. I started to make my way to the room Abe informed me was going to be Sydney's-hoping she was already here. The smell of clove cigarette's followed me. "Don't you have somewhere to be?" I asked a little irritated. Slightly wondering if the darkness was creeping back to me again, or if this was just pure irritation created from Adrian and his bad habits. It occurred to me then that I might go crazy just because I would never know if it was my anger or darkness.

"You don't like my company?" Adrian mocked a hurt expression. I rolled my eyes, but dropped the questioning as we made it to Sydney's door. I looked over at Adrian before knocking, eyeing his cigarette. He smirked and put it out on the ground before I knocked.

After two knocks the door opened slowly, to a weary Sydney. Frowning as she first saw Adrian, who had his hands in his pockets and wore an award winning smile. Turning to me she slightly smiled and opened the door farther.

"Just who you wanted to see I'm sure." I said with a smirk.

The small smile Sydney wore started to slip. "Not really. Trouble seems to always follow you. And unlucky me always seems to get mixed into your issues." She said flatly adding a smirk to the end.

"Oh come on, it only makes life more exciting right? Plus I thought you said I wasn't too bad for a creature of the night." I smiled brightly at her, which she returned raising an eye brow. Beside me, Adrian cleared his throat, making us both look over to him. He looked at me expectantly. When I didn't say anything, he raised his eyebrows.

"You not going to introduce me, little dhampir? How rude of you." He said playfully and turned to Sydney, swooping an exaggerated bow to her. "Adrian Ivashkov. And you are?" He asked as he looked back up to meet her uneasy stare.

"Sydney." She said flatly. Clearly not welcoming him to the conversation. Adrian either oblivious to the unwanted signals, or his ego too big for him to act any other way, reached for Sydney's hand and kissed it.

"Nice to meet you, Sydney." Adrian smiled a crooked grin. Now, I knew how Adrian was. He was unnerving at times. Ok, most of the time. I knew that from the moment I met him, but another thing I had noticed when we met was that even though he annoyed me, I had a feeling of wanting to talk to him anyway. Spirit and it's annoying abilities. And apparently, Sydney felt the same way. As soon as he kissed her hand, lord help me, I saw a slight blush cover her checks.

You have got to be kidding me.

**Okay, review please! Remember what I asked in my author's note before the chapter, let me know what ya'll think!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Please, please, please review. It would make my day. I would like to thank Rose-Phoenix for all her comments/reviews; again, I loved reading all of them. Thanks girl! **

**I originally had planned for this chapter to be about Vegas, but when I started writing this is just where it took me. It's funny how that usually happens; I should probably just not try to plan it out anymore and just let it take me where it wants. **

**Disclaimer: **_**I do not own Vampire Academy. **_

Chapter 13

Sydney quickly recovered from Adrian's flirting. I just hope it was the fact that she was caught off guard and not some sort of attraction for him. Although, I find the latter to be highly unlikely. Sydney doesn't like our kind. She thinks we are evil, and, out of all the Moroi that could be flirting with her, Adrian would defiantly fall under her evil category. His never ending womanizing, drinking, and smoking were going to screw him over.

After trying and failing to get rid of Adrian, we were invited in to her room. I was surprised to see Sydney had a better room than I did. I assumed it was a demand from her to be in a nice room, considering she probably didn't plan to leave it unless she had to. Adrian walked over to her couch and sat down, unsurprisingly making himself at home. I hide a smile watching Sydney; she looked like she wanted to pull out a lint roller on Adrian. I cleared my throat, getting her attention. Might as well get down to business.

"So, did you find anything out for me?" I asked as Sydney turned to look at me. She sighed and walked over to a folder she had sitting on her counter. It was the only thing on the counter. She seemed like the type that would have OCD, making sure everything was in place and spotless. Another reason, I thought, that Adrian would drive her absolutely insane. He was unorganized and totally messy. Hell, his place would be a dump if he wasn't rich enough to have people clean up after him.

"It's not much, but it's something." She said as she handed me the folder. Eager to see what she had for me I opened it and went to sit next to Adrian on the couch. I sighed at the first page. Information that I already knew were the first things listed on the page. The bank account in the name of Jane Doe and the transactions. He hadn't moved money into the account in a few years. The last transaction made a couple weeks before the car accident that took Lissa's family's life, including mine. The reminder made me shudder. I had little memory of the car accident, but thanks to the bond that Lissa and I share, whenever she thinks or dreams about it, I get sucked in.

The only new information I saw on the paper were different bank locations where 'Jane Doe' had used the money from the account. There weren't that many transactions for how long the account had been opened, but there a few different places where it had been used. Very wide spread locations. Places I did not want to have to go to, to track down this sibling. I groaned and pushed the thought of going across country out of my mind. This was going to take longer than I thought. Lissa needed to be on that council.

"Did Eric have an affair with a mastermind?" I groaned in aspiration. "They went to so many different bank locations to cover their tracks. I don't even know where to start tracking them."

"Well, little dhampir. Maybe it's not a master mind you're dealing with; maybe they have just moved or visited these different places over the years." Adrian said while looking over my shoulder at the papers. Although his information was helpful, I frowned. It was true.

"I'm sure bank statements look like these, but multiplied by a hundred." I half joked.

"Well, since I was such a wonderful friend, I have you to thank for widening my locations on my mine." He retorted. Then he looked down and smirked. "And it looks like you're going to get to make your little journey again." I sighed. Going back to Russia was not something I thought I would have to do again in less than a year, if ever.

"HE sponsored your trip to Bia?" Sydney asked raising an eyebrow.

"Of course, what kind of friend would I be if I didn't step up and offer my help to a poor, damsel in distress?" I mentally cringed as I remembered Mason calling me a 'damsel in distress.' I quickly hid my sorrow and slapped Adrian on the arm.

"Oh shut it Ivashkov. I had to beg you for the money, and then promise I would date you when I got back. 'Damsel in distress' my ass." I said flatly. I stood up before Adrian or Sydney could comment and walked towards the door, opened it and turned around to face them. "Thanks for the information; it at least tells me a few more things." I said to Sydney in which she just nodded. Then eyeing Adrian, as he made no attempt to get up and leave. "Don't be late; we have a flight to catch." I said to him as I turned and shut the door behind me. I was a little irritated about the lack of information Sydney had for me, so I didn't feel too bad leaving Adrian behind for her to take care of. He would be in my hair for the next two days anyway.

I hurried to my room to finished packing. I thankfully didn't run into anyone. I was afraid they would slow me down, and I didn't want to be the one late after telling Adrian to be there in a timely manner. I began throwing things on to my bed that I needed to bring with me. I mentally groaned as I realized I would have to actually use a real suitcase and not a duffle bag. I couldn't risk ruining the dress that was undoubtedly worth more than three months of a guardian's paycheck. It was beautiful, but I wasn't going to tell Adrian that I thought that. He would probably want me to wear it out, or get me another one. There are only a few places to wear a dress like this. Like, if you were dressing up as a blood whore, or dressing up in the bedroom. The latter made me laugh. I sighed as I grabbed the satin covered hanger and laid it down on top of my bed. I unzipped it half way to peek at my dress again. It was red., of course. Adrian always seemed to like me in red. It was covered in clear jewels that somehow matched the jewels on my shoes. The neckline was so dangerously low that I was sure it would show off my abs. The dress was so short I wouldn't have to worry about it getting wrinkled from me having to fold it in my suitcase. Although, I was still baffled on where I was going to hide my stake. I had already packed my two holsters. One for my waist and one for my thigh. I had planned on using the latter, which now seems impossible. I sighed and walked over to the new place where I kept my stake- my new one. It was another present from Lissa- along with the stake. It looked like a jewelry box, which was good. I didn't need to risk the chance of someone stealing it again. The box was silver and had the same dragon on it as the necklace did. It had a strange lock on it, that didn't need a key. A well-hidden combination lock was on the front side of the box. Lissa had pulled some royal strings and had this hand made for me, so she got to pick the combination. I have to hand it to her; I never thought she would pick the combination she did. She set the combination to a date. The date was the day of the car accident that took her family's life. It was also the day she saved mine and formed the bond. We both knew the date by heart. Convenient, but depressing. And to me, haunting. The affects of darkness were looming over my head. I prayed the necklace I was now wearing was going to help me in the long run.

I opened the box and took my new personalized stake out. It would be annoying if I didn't love Lissa as much as I do, because she had set a theme with the presents she got me. Although, this one was different than the others. On the stake's hilt was the same Dragomir dragon, but this one had a vine of thorns weaving around it with some roses that had a slightly red tint to them. It was beautiful. I smiled and slide it into the holster on my waist. I grabbed the box; put it in my suitcase a long with my dress. I almost screamed when I looked at the time. I was going to either be right on time or late. Of course, Rose Hathaway is always late.

I grabbed my suitcase and sprinted through my door, hoping I didn't forget anything. I made it to the runway right on time. I smiled as I thought about how Dimitri's demands of running everyday helped. Then I just smiled as I thought about Dimitri. I hadn't seen him since yesterday and our awkward moment with my mother, but sweet words were said and I couldn't contain my lovesick smile.

"I never knew you loved flying so much." Eddie said walking next to me. My thoughts had me in my own world. I really should stop doing that. Embarrassed, I tried to cover it up.

"I'm just excited to be out of jail, and on with this mission. I'm guessing you're going to be one of the guardians tagging along huh?"

Eddie smiled. "You bet. I couldn't miss out on one of your adventures. I told you I always had your back and I meant it." God bless him. I smiled back and shoved him with my shoulder.

"Thanks, Guardian Castile." I teased.

"Anytime, Guardian Hathaway." He teased back.

When we made it to the landing strip, Lissa and Christian were standing by the dock to the plane. I looked around confused as to why no one else was here.

"Everyone is already on the plane." Eddie said.

"What? I'm not even late." I scoffed. "Even Adrian?" I asked in disbelief.

"He was the first one here apparently." Eddie said while wearing an amused expression. I shook my head and walked over to where Lissa and Christian were waiting.

"Hey guys." I greeted them. Then gave Lissa a hug. She sighed and then pulled back to give me a stern look.

"I want to go with you." She sighed again. I felt worry through the bond.

"I don't." Christian added. "I'd have to play a role. We all know I wouldn't be good at the rich royal gig, and I don't think anyone wants me to play the blood whore."

Lissa slapped him on the shoulder. I smirked at him.

"Come on Christian, you just want alone time with Lissa."

"As much as you do with Belikov." My smirk vanished, but I quickly recovered.

"I highly doubt that." I said with a sarcastic grin. Eddie cleared his throat from behind me.

"We better get going." He said to me, and then nodded to Lissa and Christian. "I'll see you guys when we get back." I watched as he turned on his heel and made his way to the plane.

"I guess it's time, I'll see you when I get back." I said with a smile and turned to follow Eddie.

"Be careful, Rose!" Lissa yelled to me when I reached the door of the plan, I waved and then closed the door behind me.

The plane was nice. The isle was nice and wide, making it easy to carry my luggage through between the seats. Eddie was already sitting in his seat with headphones on. My mother was sitting next to one of Abe's guardians, Jemal. They were talking and I imagined it had to do with the security while we were out. My mother always wanted to know full details. I just hoped that Demyan wasn't here. Although, it seemed unlikely. We needed four guardians. Two for each moroi, and my mother and I couldn't be counted. I sighed, and picked a seat away from the others. I didn't see anyone else, and figured they were all talking somewhere I couldn't and didn't want to try and find. The plane was Abe's and it was obviously made for Moroi because I soon realized I couldn't reach my overhead compartment. I growled in frustration and I tried anyway, to put my suitcase above my seat. After several failed attempts by jumping, I was about to give up, but the a strong smell of aftershave filled the area around me and a long, tan, muscled arm reached for my suitcase and easily slid it into place. I looked up to Dimitri smirking down at me.

"And here I thought my only problem with my height was being shorter than my opponent in fighting." I joked. Dimitri chuckled and motioned for me to sit. To my surprise, he sat down next to me and reached for my hand.

"I have some I can spare. I'll share it with you." He joked. All I could do is smile. I stared at our hands.

"We don't have to hide this anymore." I said quietly. He tightened his hold on my hand and smiled. It warmed my soul to see him smile so often. I didn't even get to see his face light up this much at the academy.

"No, we don't." He sighed and looked up at me. "Do you think we should do this though?" He nodded to our intertwined hands and then to my mother. I swallowed. I had a feeling she knew some things about me and Dimitri, but was I ready for that to blow up in our faces yet? I must have frowned because Dimitri let go of my hand. I looked back at him and he had a small smile on his face. "Don't worry; once we finished what you need to get done for Lissa we won't hide anything. But, for now, we don't need to add anymore stress to your load." I sighed, no joke, I thought.

"And like I said before, your mother is a force to be reckoned with." Dimitri said as he stole a glance back to my mother. I laughed. If he only knew the threats that Abe had given Adrian. Dimitri turned back to me. "Your father already knows." He said as if it was a simple fact. I felt my face pale.

"Are you insane?" I hissed, trying to be quiet. "You probably just brought down an entire mob on yourself." Dimitri shook his head.

"He asked me to be his Guardian. To take Demyan's place." He said as he looked in my eyes. Fear crept into me. I wasn't scared for his life; he was a damn good guardian. I was scared that this could take him away from me. "I said no." He finished. I let out a breath of relief, but I knew there was more.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because I didn't want to leave you. I couldn't." He said and then snuck another glace in my mother's direction before pulling me in for a kiss.


End file.
